JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the most common upper-airway disease, is closely associated with cardiovascular risk. However, the early detection of OSA is challenging, relying on polysomnography (PSG) or home sleep apnea test (HSAT) in hospitals. A novel technology, PPG (Photoplethysmography), has been developed for OSA screening. However, the validation of PPG-based smart devices is limited as compared to that for PSG or HSAT.

Objective:

This study aimed to investigate the feasibility and validity of PPG-based smart devices in the detection of OSA.

Methods:

A total of 119 consecutive outpatients were recruited from the Chinese PLA General Hospital and assessed using a smart watch, PSG or HSAT for a whole night sleep.

Results:

17/119 patients were excluded due to poor quality of PPG-signals. Among the rest, 83 patients were diagnosed with OSA. Compared to HSAT devices, the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of PPG-based smart device in predicting moderate to severe OSA patients (Apnea Hypopnea Index, AHI≥15) were 87.9%, 89.7%, and 86.0%, respectively. Compared to PSG, the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity in predicting the sleep apnea in patients (AHI≥5) were 81.1%, 76.5%, and 100%, respectively. Moreover, for moderate to severe OSA patients (AHI≥15), the predictive ability of PPG-based smart device in OSA did no differ significantly as compared to HSAT (P=0.75) or PSG (P=0.52).

Conclusions:

The PPG-based smart devices demonstrated good performance in detecting OSA; nevertheless, validation in a large-scale population is imperative. Clinical Trial: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry of the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform of the World Health Organization ChiCTR-OOC-17014138; http://www.chictr.org.cn/showprojen.aspx?proj=24191.