ASARM: A system for CFS/ME monitoring and treatment

CFS/ME (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) affects up to 2.5% of adults in the UK and USA and between 1% and 2% of children in the UK. Sufferers report that they are low on energy, and find performing everyday activities difficult. The illness is commonly treated using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which aims to help patients learn how to build up their energy levels in a gradual way, and how best to spend and preserve their energy. A crucial aspect of this treatment is for the health care professional to monitor and record how the patient spends time on a day-to-day basis, then prescribe appropriate and precise baseline levels for periods of rest, sleep and activity. These levels are then gradually adjusted as the patient's condition improves. Current methods typically rely on paper diaries, however, these offer little guidance to the patient and are time consuming for the health care professional to analyse. The ASARM (Advanced Sleep, Activity and Rest Monitoring) system combines an electronic diary with automated recording of actigraphy data, with the aim of improving the process of assessing, monitoring, prescribing for, and then treating patients with the condition.