Validation of a novel sleep-monitoring system for diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea: A comparison with polysomnography

Overnight polysomnography (PSG) is currently the gold standard for diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA); however, it is time‑consuming, expensive and uncomfortable for the patient. A micromovement sensitive mattress (MSM) sleep‑monitoring system was developed as an alternative to PSG, however, there has yet to be a study verifying the accuracy of diagnosing OSA with this device. Therefore, the present study assessed the validity of the MSM sleep‑monitoring system. Chinese Han participants who were suspected of having OSA were recruited between June 2013 and June 2014. The MSM sleep‑monitoring system and PSG were utilized simultaneously overnight on each subject. The apnea‑hypopnea index (AHI) was measured by the MSM sleep‑monitoring system (AHIMSM) and compared with that determined by PSG (AHIPSG), revealing a significant correlation between the two values (r=0.97, P<0.001). Bland‑Altman plots also indicated good agreement (97%) between MSM and PSG. Using an AHIPSG cut‑off of ≥5, ≥15 and ≥30 events/h, the sensitivity (specificity) of detecting an AHIMSM of ≥5, ≥15, and ≥30 events/h were 94.9 (100%), 89.9 (96.9%) and 90.3% (94.9%), respectively. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve, which were used to differentiate an AHIPSG of ≥5, ≥15 and ≥30 events/h in clinically diagnosed OSA, were 0.984, 0.982 and 0.980, respectively. Thus, the MSM sleeping system may accurately diagnose OSA in the Chinese Han population. Further community‑based studies with larger sample sizes are warranted to confirm the validity of this MSM sleeping system.