An Optimized Framework for Processing Large-scale Polysomnographic Data Incorporating Expert Human Oversight

TL;DR

This paper introduces an integrated platform that combines automated algorithms with expert oversight to improve the efficiency and trustworthiness of analyzing large-scale polysomnographic data for sleep disorder diagnosis.

Contribution

It presents a novel, user-friendly platform that streamlines polysomnography data processing and incorporates expert human oversight into automated scoring workflows.

Findings

Reduced scoring time with the platform

Improved accuracy of sleep scoring

Increased trust from sleep technologists

Abstract

Polysomnographic recordings are essential for diagnosing many sleep disorders, yet their detailed analysis presents considerable challenges. With the rise of machine learning methodologies, researchers have created various algorithms to automatically score and extract clinically relevant features from polysomnography, but less research has been devoted to how exactly the algorithms should be incorporated into the workflow of sleep technologists. This paper presents a sophisticated data collection platform developed under the Sleep Revolution project, to harness polysomnographic data from multiple European centers. A tripartite platform is presented: a user-friendly web platform for uploading three-night polysomnographic recordings, a dedicated splitter that segments these into individual one-night recordings, and an advanced processor that enhances the one-night polysomnography with contemporary automatic scoring algorithms. The platform is evaluated using real-life data and human scorers, whereby scoring time, accuracy and trust are quantified. Additionally, the scorers were interviewed about their trust in the platform, along with the impact of its integration into their workflow.