To fight against sleep apnea, this French AI transforms your smartphone into a home laboratory

Subject of major concern, as this condition affects nearly 3 million people in Franceand where specialists estimate that the number of cases will explode in the coming years. While it is synonymous with both fatigue and health risks, particularly at the cardiovascular level, the question of its screening arises.

Initiatives are multiplying to simplify the detection of sleep apnea, starting with the ROSA sensor. The initiative of a start-up taken up by France Info adopts a completely different strategy, since it relies… on a simple mobile application. Named Apneal, she hears “perform a medical grade sleep test”according to his promisesthen process the information collected using artificial intelligence.

How can an app analyze the indicators of sleep apnea, you ask? Quite simply because the start-up’s service asks the user to attach the smartphone equipped with the app to their chest while they sleep using a classic bandage, and takes advantage of its capabilities. “The sensors [des smartphones] (accelerometer, gyroscope and microphone) capture essential data, including movements, breathing patterns, nighttime sounds and chest vibrations linked to heartbeats”specify its designers. The application is currently the subject of evaluations – Apneal mentions a clinical study on a European scale – before marketing planned in the coming weeks.

Note that to date, manufacturers of connected watches are focusing more and more on the subject of detecting sleep apnea. It is even one of the flagship features inaugurated by theApple Watch Series 10 in 2024; however, this type of option remains indicative, and is simply intended to direct the user to a doctor if sleep disorders are detected.