Assessing Pain and Sleep Patterns in Endometriosis: A Pilot Study Using Passive Radio Sensors

Study Objective The goal of this pilot study is to explore the relationship between sleep and pain in endometriosis patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery using novel radio-wave sensing technology. Design Sleep patterns of three endometriosis patients were monitored in their home on a nightly basis for 4 weeks prior to and 6 weeks after laparoscopic surgery. Emerald, a novel non-contact sensor developed at MIT, was installed in patients’ homes to monitor sleep. Emerald transmits low power radio signals, 1000x lower than WiFi, and uses signal reflections off the subject's body to extract their sleep stages. Participants also recorded a daily Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) of their recent Pain Level and Sleep Quality. Setting Patients were recruited from an endometriosis specialty practice at an academic community hospital. Non-contact monitoring occurred in the patients' homes using Emerald. Patients or Participants Three women ages 23-39 with pelvic pain and suspected endometriosis planning laparoscopic excisional surgery. Interventions N/A Measurements and Main Results Pearson correlation coefficients were computed between Pain Level and sleep variables computed from the Emerald device. Sleep variables include continuity (e.g. total sleep time), architecture (e.g. time in each sleep stage) and fragmentation (e.g. number of awakenings). Deep sleep onset latency, defined as the time from the sleep onset to the first epoch of deep sleep, showed a significant (p Conclusion Results indicate that increased deep sleep onset latency is a correlate of poor sleep and furthermore, poor sleep leads to higher pain sensitivity the following day. A follow-up study is needed to validate these results in a larger pelvic pain population and to evaluate whether sleep assessments should be integrated into pain treatment plans as another target for intervention.