An algorithm based on 20,000 nights of sleep that can improve the diagnosis, treatment and our overall understanding of sleep disorders has been developed.

In a new study, researchers from the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Computer Science have collaborated with the Danish Center for Sleep Medicine at the danish hospital Rigshospitalet to develop an artificial intelligence algorithm that can improve diagnoses, treatments, and our overall understanding of sleep disorders.

«The algorithm is extraordinarily precise. We completed various tests in which its performance rivaled that of the best doctors in the field, worldwide,» states Mathias Perslev, a PhD at the Department of Computer Science and lead author of the study, recently published in the journal npj Digital Medicine (link).

Can support doctors in their treatments

Today’s sleep disorder examinations typically begin with admittance to a sleep clinic. Here, a person’s night sleep is monitored using various measuring instruments. A specialist in sleep disorders then reviews the 7-8 hours of measurements from the patient’s overnight sleep.

The doctor manually divides these 7-8 hours of sleep into 30-second intervals, all of which must be categorized into different sleep phases, such as REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, light sleep, deep sleep, etc. It is a time-consuming job that the algorithm can perform in seconds.

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Materials provided by University of Copenhagen — Faculty of Science. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.