Sensor pillow system: Monitoring cardio-respiratory and posture movements during sleep

In this paper, we have developed a sleep monitoring and gesture recognition system for patient based on polysomnography which will be useful for patient communication with healthcare personals and/or relatives. In particular, we present the sensor pillow system that employs wireless networks based on low-cost ZigBee technology and a sensor array of force sensitive resistors (FSR) based on polymer thick film (PTF) device for classifying and recognizing sleep posture. This paper also proposes a simple motion model that explains the change of the head pressure distribution. In addition, we can detect some physiological parameters during the sleep stages and wakefulness as well as record cardio-respiratory activity as related to different physiological factors. The integration of the sensor system and wireless technology with a computer software could make this healthcare monitoring system a commercial product valuable for point-of-care applications.