MotionWare Software - Sleep and Circadian Rhythm

Integrated Software Solution

MotionWare is companion software that allows for the set-up, download and analysis of data captured with CamNtech's MotionWatch 8 or MotionWatch R. MotionWare analysis software interprets accelerometer data to quantify the intensity and duration of daily physical activity and to measure night-time activity for estimating sleep quality. 

Actigraphy Data

The MotionWise window provides a multiple-day, single or double plotted motion graph within a flexible, scalable and scrollable window. The MotionWise window is the key tool for the selection of data for more detailed analysis.

For each day containing data a graph is displayed which contains detailed information on activity and light (if enabled).

Sleep analysis

The Sleep analysis function is designed to provide a number of objective sleep measures from overnight actigraphy data. It uses Actiwatch-compatible activity counts to apply existing published algorithms for measures on actigraphy data. It can be easily applied either to normal overnight periods, or used to examine any sleep period from an altered phase recording such as a shift worker.

Sleep analysis offers the following statistics:

• Time in bed: The total elapsed time between the “Lights Out” and “Got Up” times.
• Assumed sleep: The total elapsed time between the “Fell Asleep” and “Woke Up” times.
• Actual sleep time: The total time spent in sleep according to the epoch-by-epoch wake/sleep categorisation.
• Actual sleep (%): Actual sleep time expressed as a percentage of the assumed sleep time.
• Actual wake time: The total time spent in wake according to the epoch-by-epoch wake/sleep categorisation.
• Actual wake (%): Actual wake time expressed as a percentage of the assumed sleep time.
• Sleep efficiency (%): Actual sleep time expressed as a percentage of time in bed.
• Sleep latency: The time between “Lights Out” and “Fell Asleep”.
• Sleep bouts: The number of contiguous sections categorised as sleep in the epoch-by-epoch wake/sleep categorisation.
• Wake bouts: The number of contiguous sections categorised as wake in the epoch-by-epoch wake/sleep categorisation.
• Mean sleep bout: The average length of each of the sleep bouts.
• Mean wake bout: The average length of each of the wake bouts.
• Immobile mins: The total time categorised as Immobile in the epoch-by-epoch mobile/immobile categorisation.
• Immobile time (%): The immobile time expressed as a percentage of the assumed sleep time.
• Mobile mins: The total time categorised as mobile in the epoch-by-epoch mobile/immobile categorisation.
• Mobile time (%): The mobile time expressed as a percentage of the assumed sleep time.
• Immobile bouts: The number of contiguous sections categorised as immobile in the epoch-by-epoch mobile/immobile categorisation.
• Mean immobile bout: The average length of each of the immobile bouts.
• Immobile bouts <=1min: The number of immobile bouts which were less than or equal to one minute in length.
• Immobile bouts <=1min (%): The number of immobile bouts less than or equal to one minute expressed as a percentage of the total number of immobile bouts.
• Total activity score: The total of all the activity counts during the assumed sleep period.
• Mean activity /epoch: The total activity score divided by the number of epochs in the assumed sleep period.  Note that this result will be expected to scale depending on the length of the epoch.
• Mean nonzero activity epoch: The total activity score divided by the number of epochs with greater than zero activity in the assumed sleep period.  Note that this result will be expected to scale depending on the length of the epoch.
• Fragmentation Index: The sum of the “Mobile time (%)” and the “Immobile bouts <=1min (%)”.  This is an indication of the degree of fragmentation of the sleep period, and can be used as an indication of sleep quality (or the lack of it).

NPCRA Analysis

The MotionWare software also provides the function of Non-Parametric Circadian Rhythm Analysis (NPCRA) which is included in the package as standard. The method used is to analyse full-days of data over several days to determine useful variables. The NPCRA analysis is based upon the work of Dr. Eus Van Someren at the Netherlands Institute for Brain Research.

The NPCRA window provides a table of resulting Non-Parametric variables with the following meanings:

• IS (Interdaily Stability): quantifies the degree of regularity in the Activity-Rest pattern with a range of 0 to 1 where a value of 0 indicates a total lack of rhythm and a value of 1 indicates a perfectly stable rhythm.
• IV (Intra-Daily Variability): quantifies the degree of fragmentation of activity-rest periods. Typical healthy subjects will show a single prolonged activity period and a single prolonged rest period per 24 hour cycle. Certain physiological conditions may lead to multiple short-length periods of activity-rest within any 24 hour period. The variable has a theoretical range of 0 to 2 with higher values indicating higher fragmentation. Typical values for healthy subjects will be below 1.
• L5 (Least 5) Average: all days of data are overlaid and averaged in 24-hour periods. The L5 average provides the average activity level for the sequence of the least five active hours. This value provides an indication of how restful (inactive) and regular the sleep periods are.
• L5 Start Hour: Indicates the onset of the L5 sequence and provides an indication of the phase of the most restful hours.
• M10 (Most 10) Average: all days of data are overlaid and averaged in 24-hour periods. The M10 average provides the average activity level for the sequence of the highest (most) ten active hours. This value provides an indication of how active and regular the wake periods are.
• M10 Start Hour: Indicates the onset of the M10 sequence and provides an indication of the phase of the most active hours.
• RA (Relative Amplitude): First we calculate the Amplitude (AMP) which is the difference between the average activity level in the M10 and that in the L5 periods. To remove sensitivity to overall activity level, we then calculate the RA by dividing the AMP by the sum of the L5 and M10. The variable has a theoretical range of 0 to 1 with higher values indicating a rhythm with higher amplitude.

Compatibility

It is possible to read existing .AWD format files made by some legacy Actiwatch models in to the MotionWare software: The Actiwatch 4, Actiwatch 7, The Actiwatch Mini and Actiwatch Light Plus AWD files are all compatible with MotionWare. CamNtech will give consideration to adding import functionality for unsupported/unlisted actigraphs where customers have large existing data sets - please contact us for more information.

It is also possible to export MotionWatch recordings from MotionWare in the Actiwatch .AWD file format for use in older software such as Sleep Analysis 7. This makes the MotionWatch package retrospectively compatible allowing the user to analyse important recordings in the latest package and to analyse the latest recordings in the legacy software.

All data is fully exportable as comma-delimited text and is stored in an open XML data format.

System Requirements

The MotionWare software is supplied via download and contains all of the components required to install the software package. The following are the minimum requirements of a host PC for installing the MotionWatch software:

• Windows Vista or Windows 7/8/10 32 or 64bit operating systems.
• IBM compatible 2GHz + processor speed recommended
• 100 MB hard disk space
• One free USB port
• A CD-ROM or DVD drive for software installation
• Graphics SVGA(1280 x 1024) recommended

In general, a faster processor will provide superior performance.