Automated sleep stage scoring using hybrid rule- and case-based reasoning.

We propose an automated method for sleep stage scoring using hybrid rule- and case-based reasoning. The system first performs rule-based sleep stage scoring, according to the Rechtschaffen and Kale's sleep-scoring rule (1968), and then supplements the scoring with case-based reasoning. This method comprises signal processing unit, rule-based scoring unit, and case-based scoring unit. We applied this methodology to three recordings of normal sleep and three recordings of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Average agreement rate in normal recordings was 87.5% and case-based scoring enhanced the agreement rate by 5.6%. This architecture showed several advantages over the other analytical approaches in sleep scoring: high performance on sleep disordered recordings, the explanation facility, and the learning ability. The results suggest that combination of rule-based reasoning and case-based reasoning is promising for an automated sleep scoring and it is also considered to be a good model of the cognitive scoring process.