An Information Society Technologies (IST) project dubbed SENSATION is showing results in the development of a multipurpose sensing platform for sleep studies that will be wirelessly integrated through a computer network. The design will also have the capacity to wirelessly transfer sleep study results to medical facilities for analysis, according to a May 31 report published in Medical News Today.

In addition, the project coordinators hope to use the platform to monitor and warn sleepy drivers and people working in critical atmosphere jobs. “The aim is to take sleep research to a whole new level by developing a multipurpose sensing platform consisting of 17 micro sensors and two nano sensors, connected through a local area network,” the report said.

The project has only come to a halfway point in its funding period and the results are already showing promise. Real-life tests of a prototype platform are scheduled to begin in the early months of 2007, the report said. The researchers also hope to develop sensors to measure the waking state of a person.