Infineon and Sleepiz use radar for high-precision home sleep monitoring
According to scientific research [1], about one billion people alone suffer from sleep apnea, an interrupted breathing during the night. This is leading to various health consequences including snoring, daytime fatigue, along with more difficult issues such as heart problems and diabetes. Diagnosing sleep apnea is challenging and often includes observing a patient in a sleep laboratory, a stressful situation which can lead to deviating results. Infineon Technologies AG and Sleepiz AG, a Swiss digital health company, are collaborating on a radar based system to address this issue.
Together, they provide a system for easy-to-use sleep monitoring at home. The system can be integrated into any connected smart home device ranging from smart speakers to bed lamps. Based on Infineon XENSIV™ 60 GHz radar technology and Sleepiz-proven algorithms the system is directed at customers that address the broader consumer market.
“Infineon’s XENSIV™ radar sensors offer a great opportunity for healthcare applications as they enable accurate measurement of vital signs such as heartbeat and breathing rate without touching the body or intruding on privacy,” said Philipp von Schierstaedt, Senior Vice President and General Manager Radio Frequency and Sensors at Infineon. “Together with Sleepiz, Infineon has developed an innovative sleep monitoring solution to be integrated into smart home and healthcare devices that is exceptionally precise.”
“With Infineon’s decades of radar experience and our expertise in analyzing respiratory and sleep-related diseases and disorders, we make sleep monitoring easy-to-use while delivering accurate data. Together, we bring sleep lab technology to consumers, allowing them to observe their sleep and health in the comfort of their own homes,” added Dr. Soumya Sunder Dash, CEO and Co-founder of Sleepiz. “Jointly, we open a new market of high-precision sleep monitoring solutions at home and our software helps to make medical-grade insights accessible to everyone.”
Understanding vital data can help millions of patients and doctors detect sleep disorders like apnea to improve sleep quality. Thanks to Infineon’s XENSIV™ 60 GHz radar technology, relevant vital sign data is collected contactless and anonymously without identifying the person. Due to the high sensitivity, the technology can detect this data and sense sub-millimeter movements of the person closest to the device through various materials, such as blankets. Data is analysed with the help of machine learning (ML) algorithms from Sleepiz and stored anonymously in a cloud for the user to access.
Sleepiz has conducted many clinical studies with leading clinics, like Charité Berlin and Ruhrlandklink Essen and other sleep researchers, proving the accuracy of their algorithms. As a medical device manufacturer Sleepiz is already selling medical sleep monitoring devices with Infineon’s radar technology to doctors in Switzerland and Germany today. Now the two companies would like to jointly revolutionize the consumer market and integrate their solution into smart speakers and other smart home devices.
