Advanced signal processing for cardiorespiratory analysis in sleep apnea and epilepsy

It is well known that heart rate and respiration interact with each other, and that they are unconsciously regulated by the autonomic nervous system. Although these interactions themselves are well-known to exist, their exact understanding is still limited and controversial. In addition, several disorders such as sleep apnea and epilepsy can have a further effect on these interactions. These disorders are associated with a high morbidity and mortality, hence, it is clear that the understanding of the cardiorespiratory interactions needs to be improved, and that is the goal of this project. To achieve this, an existing collaboration between engineers and medical doctors will be strengthened, which allows for the combination of medical expertise with the capability of engineers to harness the power of advanced mathematical and computational tools. These tools can be used for the analysis of different biomedical signals, such as the electrocardiogram and the respiration. By analyzing these signals and their interactions, we believe we will uncover many of the unknown elements of the interactions mentioned above. These findings will improve existing techniques for the detection of epileptic seizures and sleep apnea events. Moreover, their applicability on the development of new diagnostic schemes and treatment strategies will be evaluated. As a result, we believe we will contribute to the long-term reduction of morbidity and mortality associated with sleep apnea and epilepsy.