BDN reports on technology developed at UMaine to help maintain brain health

The Bangor Daily News reported on an innovative, wireless home technology, developed at the University of Maine, that could someday take the place of traditional, hard-wired sleep studies in a clinical setting. The technology used in the patented device, known as the SleepMove, has been used to analyze sleep patterns in newborns with opiate dependency, military servicemembers with PTSD and athletes with traumatic brain injury, according to the article. UMaine graduate student Katrina Daigle is using the device to study sleep patterns in a group of older Mainers. “It’s just a waterproof type of sheet with pressure sensors in it,” she said. “During the night, it picks up all the different kinds of movements [the sleeper] makes, including breathing.” For Daigle’s study, the sheet is placed under the regular bedding in a patient’s home. As sensors in the pad pick up the sleeper’s movements and respirations, electronic information is wirelessly transmitted to receivers at UMaine, where it can be analyzed to determine the duration and quality of sleep, the article states. Daigle and her research partners are trying to determine if, in people who already are experiencing a decline in their cognitive function, there is a correlation between the dampening of the coupling system and a more rapid progression to dementia, the BDN reported. Psychology professor Marie Hayes is a faculty adviser to the project; and Ali Abedi, professor of electrical and computer engineering, helped develop the SleepMove technology.