On 07.07.22, I had the opportunity to present our project “Enhancing Sleep Quality of People on the Autism Spectrum using Assistive Technology: A Concept”, which is part of our SENSHOME Project at the Pervasive Technologies related to Assistive Environments (PETRA).
External parameters may have an strong impact on sleep quality
The project idea was developed in discussions with people on the autism spectrum, their caregivers and medical professionals. Specifically, it is about the fact that the quality of sleep of people living on the autism spectrum is impaired and all those involved expect a strong link with external factors (e.g. street noise, moonlight, air quality, etc…).
A special “sleeping analyzer” records the sleep quality
Our objective is to evaluate this connection and to develop a technology that provides the people living on the autism spectrum and their caregivers with information to be able to react quickly. Together with the people living on the autism spectrum, their caregivers and medical professionals, the conditions for such an assistive technology were worked out and a prototype, including the corresponding study design, was developed. The components are the Withings sleeping analyzer to record sleep parameters (sleep duration, depth, etc…), a sensor box to record external parameters (light, noise, air quality, etc…) and a psychometric questionnaire to evaluate the personal sleep quality. As a first Step, we validate the components together with Students from the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences as well as with people living on the autism spectrum itself. After that, the actual assessment and human-centred development of the equipment are on the agenda.
New ideas at PETRA
During PETRA we had some interesting discussions and visited exciting presentations which raised new thoughts and smart aspects that had not been considered before and will positively influence the quality of the project. One of these aspects is the statistical analysis of the signals using fancy deep learning/AI methodologies and the design of assistive technologies. In summary, the visit brought many new ideas, and we are looking forward to the next steps.
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