Billions of people are facing sleep problems. According to scientific research*, about one billion people alone suffer from sleep apnea, an interrupted breathing during the night. This is leading to various health consequences including snoring, daytime fatigue, along with more difficult issues such as heart problems and diabetes. Diagnosing sleep apnea is challenging and often includes observing a patient in a sleep laboratory, a stressful situation which can lead to deviating results.
To solve the issue, Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY) is collaborating with Sleepiz AG, a Swiss digital health company. Together, they provide a solution for easy-to-use sleep monitoring at home. The system can be integrated into any connected smart home device ranging from smart speakers to bed lamps. Based on Infineon XENSIV™ 60 GHz radar technology and Sleepiz-proven algorithms the solution is directed at customers that address the broader consumer market.
“Infineon’s XENSIV™ radar sensors offer a great opportunity for healthcare applications as they allow to accurately measure vital signs such as heartbeat and breathing rate without touching the body or intruding on privacy,” said Philipp von Schierstaedt, Senior Vice President and General Manager Radio Frequency & Sensors at Infineon. “Together with Sleepiz, Infineon has developed an innovative sleep monitoring solution to be integrated into smart home and healthcare devices that is exceptionally precise. We are keen to help improve the sleep and life quality of people.”
“With Infineon’s decades of radar experience and our expertise in analyzing respiratory and sleep-related diseases and disorders, we make sleep monitoring easy-to-use while delivering accurate data. Together, we bring sleep lab technology to consumers, allowing them to observe their sleep and health in the comfort of their own homes,” added Dr. Soumya Sunder Dash, CEO and Co-founder of Sleepiz. “Jointly, we open a new market of high-precision sleep monitoring solutions at home and our software helps to make medical-grade insights accessible to everyone.”
Understanding vital data can help millions of patients and doctors detect sleep disorders like apnea to improve sleep quality. Thanks to Infineon’s XENSIV™ 60 GHz radar technology, relevant vital sign data is collected contactless and anonymously without identifying the person. Due to the high sensitivity, the technology can detect this data and sense sub-millimeter movements of the person closest to the device through various materials, such as blankets. Data is analysed with the help of machine learning (ML) algorithms from Sleepiz and stored anonymously in a cloud for the user to access.
Sleepiz has conducted many clinical studies with leading clinics, like Charité Berlin and Ruhrlandklink Essen and other sleep researchers, proving the accuracy of their algorithms. As a medical device manufacturer Sleepiz is already selling medical sleep monitoring devices with Infineon’s radar technology to doctors in Switzerland and Germany today. Now the two companies would like to jointly revolutionize the consumer market and integrate their solution into smart speakers and other smart home devices.
Sleepiz AG was founded in 2018 by Marc Rullan, Max Sieghold and Soumya Sunder Dash as a Spin-Off from ETH Zürich. Sleepiz aims to improve people’s lives by creating the future of healthcare. Their solution brings healthcare into homes and empowers patients to take charge of their own health. They have developed a comfortable and cost-effective product to screen and diagnose sleep disorders like sleep apnea and to monitor patients with chronic diseases. The company has more than 50 employees across two continents and has received support from institutions like Innosuisse (Swiss Federal Innovation Agency) and the European Commission. For more information visit sleepiz.com.
* Benjafield, A. et al. (2018). Global prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea in adults: estimation using currently available data. ATS 2019, B67