Evaluating a Low-Cost Strain Gauge Breathing Sensor for Sleep Apnea Detection at Home

We report results and experience from a clinical evaluation of a low-cost strain gauge breathing sensor for sleep apnea detection. We collected from 34 individuals 57 nights of unattended sleep monitoring data at home with the certified Type 3 monitor Nox-T3 and the Flow strain gauge sensor from SweetZpot. The quality of the Flow data does not match the quality of the Nox-T3 data due to the much simpler build of the Flow sensor and issues during data acquisition. The Flow data can still be used to accurately discriminate between normal and disrupted breathing. With appropriate data pre-processing, we achieve a mean breath detection sensitivity of 97.2% and positive prediction value of 94.2%.