ERIK PAGE & ASSOCIATES, INC. — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase I: NIA

Description

Project Summary This proposed project will develop and field test a device that accurately monitors and controls the circadian stimulusCSfor Alzheimer diseaseADand Alzheimer disease related dementiaADRDpatients in nursing homesHuman biology has evolved to have two distinct optical systemsthe visual systemby which we see and process imagesand the circadian systemwhich regulates our biological clock and associated biological systemsThese two systems have significantly different spectral and temporal responses to optical inputSpecificallycircadian stimulation peaks atnm and responds after several minutes of optical activationwhile the visual system peaks atnm and responds nearly instantaneously to inputsWhile a broad and growing body of research has documented the impacts the circadian system has on human healthincluding regulating sleep and improving cognition in AD ADRD patientsresearch on the CS experienced by AD ADRD patients is extremely limitedAll lighting systems are designed and installed in buildings with consideration only given to the photopicvisualsystem and all light meters used to characterize lighting buildings are calibrated to measure photopic lightnot CSResearchers at the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute developed the Daysimetera calibrated light meter that measures circadian light and circadian stimulusIn the proposed projectresearchers would modify an existing workstation based lighting control system they previously developed for the visual system to include Daysimeter technologyThis modified lighting controller would include the all the necessary sensors and components to monitor and control both circadian and photopic light and exposure to CSData from these devices would be wirelessly transmitted to researchers via an Internet gateway and associated cloud based data management systemsThese data would be of immediate value for gaining a better understanding of AD ADRD patientsandaposCS exposure and could ultimately result in new lighting systems and or building codes that consider both our visual and circadian systemsAfter these modifications are completed and the devices are shown to accurately record CS in the laboratoryprototype devices would be deployed in AD ADRD nursing homes for one monthData from these devicesother measurements made at the field siteand assessments of AD ADRD patient sleep patternssleepinessand depression would be collectedA final report would be prepared that includesrecommendations for modifications to the deviceif neededa discussion of correlations between measured CS and patient sleepsleepiness and depression andplans for large field test deployment in Phase II Project Narrative A growing body of research has demonstrated how light impacts human circadian systems and these impacts can affect sleepalertnesscognition and agitation in people with Alzheimerandapos s diseaseADand Alzheimerandapos sdisease related dementiaADRDStillsignificant knowledge gaps exist in determining how much circadian stimulation is typically provided to AD ADRD patientslargely because of measurement difficultiesThis project aims to fill in these knowledge gaps by developing and testing a device specifically designed to measure and control the circadian stimulation experienced by AD ADRD patients in nursing homes