Sleep Revolution - Remodeling of Sleep Diagnostics and Treatment

BMC welcomes the guest speaker dr. Erna Sif Arnardottir, Assistant Professor at the Department of Engineering and Department of Computer Science at Reykjavik University and Director of the newly founded Reykjavik University Sleep Institute, Iceland.

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is associated with various adverse health consequences including increased risk of heart disease and hypertension. The economic burden of the disease is rising, with an estimated prevalence of 1 billion people worldwide. The current diagnostic metric, the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), relates poorly to above these mentioned symptoms and comorbidities. Furthermore, the clinical methods for analysing sleep study signals are outdated, expensive and laborious. The SLEEP REVOLUTION project aims at to developing machine learning techniques to better assess OSA severity and treatment needs using 30.000 retrospective sleep studies and prospective trials in order to improve health outcomes and quality of life. Moreover, we will design a digital platform include wearables and neurocognitive tests, that functions as a bridge between researchers, patients and healthcare professionals. We will achieve these ambitious goals through extensive interdisciplinary collaboration between clinical sleep experts, computer scientists, engineers, psychologists, sport science experts, and industry partners.

The focus is to design more personalized diagnostics that include predictive and preventive health care and patient participation.

About Erna Sif

Dr. Erna Sif Arnardottir is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Engineering and Department of Computer Science at Reykjavik University, Iceland. She is also the Director of the newly founded Reykjavik University Sleep Institute. She has over 15 years of experience within the field of clinical and scientific sleep research. Currently, she is the President of the Icelandic Sleep Research Society, Secretary of the European Sleep Research Society (ESRS) and the chair of the Assembly of National Sleep Societies (ANSS) and (ESRS) task force “Beyond the apnea-hypopnea index – Standardization of additional measures in adult sleep studies for obstructive sleep disordered breathing”. She has authored over 40 published peer-reviewed papers and one book chapter. Currently, Dr. Arnardottir and her team are focusing on new ways to assess the pathophysiological effects of sleep disordered breathing, from habitual snoring to severe sleep apnea. The aim is to increase the use of personalized medicine and machine learning to improve sleep apnea research and clinical practice. Her Google scholar profile shows 2222 citations, an H-index of 20 and i10-index of 27. At present she supervises 7 MSc and 3 PhD students.