A new wearable sleep-improvement system has earned a Carle Illinois College of Medicine student team recognition from the US National Academy of Medicine. The device could improve the duration and quality of sleep, especially for people with conditions like dementia. The team’s innovation is an at-home device that pairs a wearable EEG (electroencephalogram) monitoring system and auditory stimulation to improve the user’s crucial, restorative stage of sleep. Their solution recently won the Catalyst Award for innovation in a competition sponsored by the US National Academy of Medicine.
“There is a growing body of literature supporting the idea that providing auditory stimulation during sleep increases the slow wave sleep that an individual experiences, leading to better physical and mental health outcomes,” said team leader Maggie Li. Insufficient sleep is associated with serious health conditions including obesity, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, immune suppression, impaired cognitive functioning, and dementia. The team’s research inspired the creation of Sound Asleep, a new non-invasive solution to increase sleep quality and quantity and improve overall health and well-being.
“We propose a wearable home-use device that measures brainwaves via a closed-loop EEG system and delivers noise during slow-wave sleep to enhance restorative rest in a personalized manner,” Li said. The Sound Asleep team – which also includes CI MED students Nafisa Mostofa, Shrey Patel, and Mihir Patil – won the 2023 Catalyst award in the U.S. National Academy of Medicine’s Healthy Longevity Global Grand Challenge. The competition is open to health care workers, scientists, researchers, social scientists, and industry professionals and is meant to foster the development of transformative, scalable solutions that extend life and improve human health as we age. The team is one of 20 Catalyst prize winners across the US that qualified to enter the competition’s Accelerator phase which offers prizes up to $1 million for ideas that show the most progress and reach the proof-of-concept phase. A worldwide grand prize of $5 million will be awarded in 2026.
The Sound Asleep team will use their $50,000 in winnings to prototype their system. It will include a microcomputer that calculates the ideal timing to send out short bursts of pink noise to amplify the user’s brainwaves. The pink noise – which is a particular combination of frequencies that to some resembles the sound of flowing water – will be delivered via speakers that sit outside the ear to maintain comfort. Because the sound bursts are short and delivered during slow wave sleep, users won’t consciously hear the sounds.
The device can be paired with an app that tracks sleep metrics, such as time to fall asleep, sleep duration, and time in each sleep stage. With this personalized health data, users will be better equipped to take control of their sleep health
As a Catalyst award winner, the Sound Asleep team will be invited to attend the annual, virtual Innovator Summit to share their work with policymakers, researchers, potential investors, and fellow innovators from around the world.