Application of Braided Piezoelectric Poly-l-Lactic Acid Cord Sensor to Sleep Bruxism Detection System with Less Physical or Mental Stress

Abstract

For many years, we have been developing flexible sensors made of braided piezoelectric poly-l-lactic acid (PLLA) fibers that can be tied and untied for practical applications in society. To ensure good quality of sleep, the occurrence of bruxism has been attracting attention in recent years. Currently, there is a need for a system that can easily and accurately measure the frequency of bruxism at home. Therefore, taking advantage of the braided piezoelectric PLLA cord sensor’s unique characteristic of being sewable, we aimed to provide a system that can measure the frequency of bruxism using the braided piezoelectric PLLA cord sensor simply sewn onto a bed sheet on which the subject lies down. After many tests using trial and error, the sheet sensor was completed with zigzag stitching. Twenty subjects slept overnight in a hospital room on sheets integrated with a braided piezoelectric PLLA cord. Polysomnography (PSG) was simultaneously performed on these subjects. The results showed that their bruxism could be detected with an accuracy of more than 95% compared with PSG measurements, which can only be performed in a hospital by a physician and are more burdensome for the subjects, with the subjects simply lying on the bed sheet with a braided piezoelectric PLLA cord sensor sewn into it.

Keywords

• poly-l-lactic acid
• piezoelectricity
• braided cord
• sensing
• PLLA