University of Massachusetts, Amherst

This effort focuses on portable, in-home sleep monitoring for older adults by assessing commercially available and research-grade devices that capture multiple physiological signals (e.g., heart rate, oxygen saturation, electrocardiography). Device outputs will be compared to gold-standard polysomnography measures such as electroencephalography, electromyography, and electro-oculography to characterize accuracy in populations with common chronic conditions and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD). The team also aims to produce a de-identified, researcher-accessible dataset—supported by an application programming interface (API)—and to gather user experience insights to guide improvements in usability and reduce algorithmic bias for this population.The project is led by Rebecca Spencer, PhD, professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences and director of the Sleep Laboratory core facility at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her program includes long-standing NIH support and numerous industry collaborations evaluating sleep measurement and enhancement technologies. Drawing on these resources and expertise, the team seeks to validate device performance in real homes and provide data that can inform future tools for clinical and research use.