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Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) is conventionally quantified by the Apnoea-Hypopnea Index (AHI), used to classify disease severity. Automation of AHI detection relies on identification of singular data points in long, multi-channel polysomnography (PSG) recordings. This can be easily compromised by signal noise. We present a novel mathematical method, the Symmetric Projection Attractor Reconstruction (SPAR), that may overcome this problem by transforming whole cyclic physiological recordings into corresponding ‘at-a-glance’ images (‘attractors’) which capture all available waveform morphology information, without relying on single point detection. Attractor quantification may provide a more rapid and robust mean of quantifying the number and duration of overnight apnoeic and hypopneic events.

To test whether SPAR can categorize overnight obstructive sleep apnoea recordings …