Monitoring bed temperature in elderly in the home [ECG/body movements]

Monitoring of health condition during sleep using fully automated instrumentation was attempted. The reliability and validity of measurement during sleep and bed rest using bed temperature monitor that required no electrode and transducers to the subjects were investigated. The temperature changes were recorded from the temperature sensor sheet. The body movements and sleeping period were obtained. Body movement was identified from the derivative of the temperature profile in the bed. Overnight recordings of 14 elderly subjects included disabled and bed-ridden patients were monitored simultaneously with ECG recordings. Sleeping period could be clearly estimated from time courses of bed temperature. The continuous 5 days´ recordings of 10 elderly men were made in the home. There were significant individual differences and measurement reliability for each measurement. These study indicated the potential use of the bed temperature monitor for characterizing sleep in the elderly