Currently in spaceflight,
crewmembers report their sleep duration as requested by their crew surgeon.
This approach has several limitations, including the burden it places on the
crew and the tendency for subjective over-reporting of sleep (Lauderdale et
al., 2008; Van Den Berg et al., 2008; Silva et al., 2007). Given evidence that
demonstrates the relationship between sleep and circadian phase and
performance, sleep-activity data should be collected as unobtrusively possible
during long duration spaceflight. Wrist-worn actigraphy has been implemented as
a successful, validated research tool in spaceflight but lacks features to
render it a useful tool operationally, such as real-time feedback and minimal
crew time requirements. Hence, there is a need for a minimally obtrusive or
unobtrusive measure that evaluates sleep-wake activity plus light exposure; is
acceptable for continuous wear; minimizes crew time by allowing for automatic
downloads; provides immediate feedback to the user; incorporates the
constraints of spaceflight hardware, such as extended battery life; and
potentially incorporates other features, including other physiological sensors.
SBIR Phase II: The purpose of this task
is to test and validate refined technologies so that they serve as an objective
measure of sleep-wake activity (and lighting) while fitting into the
spaceflight mission environment.
The Technical Objectives of the
Phase II project are:
1.) Conduct user testing to
achieve initial product validation in a space analog environment and guide
Phase II product refinement.
2.) Develop an updated
version of STARwatch tailored to meet the exact needs of space exploration.
3.) Develop state-of-the-art
sensing and advanced analytics features to support space exploration missions.
4.) Conduct user testing with the
updated version of STARwatch to validate updated features and prepare for
transition to space flight.
Three SBIR 2014 Phase I projects
were previously completed for the topic of Objective Sleep Measures
for Spaceflight Operations:
1.) Wearable Device for
Objective Sleep Monitoring [awarded to Linea Research Corporation]
2.) STARwatch to Deliver
Objective Sleep Measures for Spaceflight Operations [awarded to Pulsar
Informatics, Inc.]
3.) Circadian Rhythm Management System
[awarded to Orbital Research, Inc.]