Polysomnography Challenges

Polysomnography provided a means to objectively study sleep. Initial challenges were technical; the next challenge was overcoming communication difficulties and lack of standardization. The new specialty, sleep medicine, created a huge demand for laboratory polysomnography. By the early 2000s, home sleep testing and treatment devices made inroads into clinical sleep practice. The economic consequence was shrinking demand for clinical laboratory polysomnography. Therefore, polysomnography must now find new directions, approaches, and purpose. Engineering challenges remain, and the new polysomnography needs to revisit some of the original questions about sleep, including what constitutes optimal sleep quantity, timing, and quality.