METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR THE NON-INVASIVE DETECTION OF PARTICULAR SLEEP-STATE CONDITIONS BY MONITORING THE PERIPHERAL VASCULAR SYSTEM

摘要

A method and apparatus for monitoring an individual for the occurrence of a particular condition during the sleep state of the individual, by applying and external probe (2) to an external surface at a peripheral location on the individual's body, for monitoring the peripheral vascular bed volume of the individual at the peripheral body location and determining the sleep state condition of the individual according to the output of the probe (2). Examples of different sleep state conditions detected in accordance with the described invention include: arousals during the sleep state, periodic legs movement syndrome, apneas, hypopneas, UARS events, a Cheynes-Stokes breathing pattern, and rapid eye movement (REM) stage sleep.