Sleep apnea diagnostic device

Sleep apnea is a disorder in which people are unable to breathe while they are sleeping. The goal of this project is to design a medical device that can be used as a diagnostic tool for preliminary diagnosis of sleep apnea. The signals measured will be the respiratory rate measurement, the oxygen concentration in blood and chest oscillations. The system architecture will be divided into 5 parts, the microcontroller, the external communications, data storage, power management, and signal conditioning part. The data stored will be transmitted wirelessly to a clinic´s office. The physician can interpret the data received from the medical device the next morning and conclude what the patient´s condition is. There will be sensors designed to measure airflow, temperature and oxygen level. The design for the airflow and temperature measurements will be made through a Wheatstone Bridge circuit using thermistors. To measure the saturation of oxygen in the blood, a pulse oximetry technique will be used. Also, to measure chest oscillations, an accelerometer will be used. The sleep apnea diagnostic device will be available at a low cost and can be administered at home, so patients can afford to purchase it. The device will also reduce costs for the patient because the patient does not have to pay for an overnight stay at the clinic to determine if he or she has sleep apnea. High costs may occur if the doctor decides the patient needs further tests, but for patients who do not have sleep apnea, however think they are inflicted with the disorder, will not have to pay for an expensive one night stay at the clinic.