title: Utility of multilayer perceptron neural network classifiers in the diagnosis of the obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome from nocturnal oximetry.
abstract: The aim of this study is to assess the ability of multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural networks as an assistant tool in the diagnosis of the obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS). Non-linear features from nocturnal oxygen saturation (SaO(2)) recordings were used to discriminate between OSAS positive and negative patients. A total of 187 subjects suspected of suffering from OSAS (111 with a positive diagnosis of OSAS and 76 with a negative diagnosis of OSAS) took part in the study. The initial population was divided into training, validation and test sets for deriving and testing our neural network classifier. Three methods were applied to extract non-linear features from SaO(2) signals: approximate entropy (ApEn), central tendency measure (CTM) and Lempel-Ziv complexity (LZC). The selected MLP-based classifier provided a diagnostic accuracy of 85.5% (89.8% sensitivity and 79.4% specificity). Our neural network algorithm could represent a useful technique for OSAS detection. It could contribute to reduce the demand for polysomnographic studies in OSAS screening.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering Group, E.T.S. Ingenieros de Telecomunicación, University of Valladolid, Spain. jvmarcos@gmail.es
authors.forename: J Víctor
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Marcos
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hornero
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.forename: Félix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Del Campo
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zamarrón
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: López
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D010092:Oximetry / Q000379:methods*; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods*; D017286:Polysomnography / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology