Usability of an Ambulatory Bruxism Recording System with Sleep-Stage Analyzing Function

We developed an ambulatory bruxism recording system that analyzes sleep stage. This system enables us to measure sleep bruxism activities in each sleep stage on an electromyographic and auditory basis at home. The purpose of this study was to examine the usability of this recording system. Six volunteers with self-awareness of sleep bruxism were recruited. They were instructed to operate the recording system by themselves and they recorded their bruxism activities at home. Afterward, they were asked to answer the questionnaire on the usability and the influence of the device on sleep. Data recordings were carried out in 3 to 5 nights per subject. All subjects could easily operate this system. Two subjects, however, failed to record in some nights. They reported problems of the sensors falling off from the skin. There was no complaint on disturbance of sleep due to the measurement. Although no interference to sleep was observed, our ambulatory recording system caused some technical difficulty in a few subjects. More detailed operation manual and simplified software seemed to be necessary.