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Empatica Actigraphy

Actigraphy is a widely used, non-invasive method in clinical research to measure sleep–wake patterns and physical activity using wearable devices. Commonly used for sleep monitoring, actigraphy enables continuous, objective tracking of sleep and activity in real-world settings over extended periods. Empatica’s wearable-based actigraphy offering enables remote, longitudinal data collection, supporting scalable and real-world assessments in clinical trials.

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How actigraphy works in real-world clinical settings

Continuous data collection

Participants wear a compact device, typically on the wrist, equipped with an accelerometer that continuously records movement. This allows for passive, uninterrupted data capture without disrupting daily routines.

Longitudinal monitoring

Data is collected over days or weeks, providing insight into variability, trends, and circadian rhythms. This longitudinal monitoring is particularly valuable for assessing real-world behavior beyond a single timepoint snapshot.

Signal processing and feature extraction

Raw accelerometer data is processed using validated actigraphy algorithms to derive clinically relevant measures, including activity levels, rest-activity cycles, and sleep-wake patterns. These models transform continuous signals into actionable digital biomarkers.

Data interpretation and visualization

Processed data is translated into structured outputs such as activity summaries, circadian insights, and digital biomarkers. These outputs support clinical research, endpoint analysis, and data-driven decision-making.

Part of the FDA-cleared Empatica Health Monitoring Platform

Scale across therapeutic areas without needing to switch devices or ways of working

Remotely manage your trials and participants

Available in over 40 languages

Seamless data transfer, download and visualization via the Care App and Portal

Benefit from dedicated Account Management and support team, patient and site materials and training, as well as regulatory support and audit trails

The most complete suite of sleep and activity measures

Talk to our team to receive our full list of sleep and activity measures or explore our range of 300+ digital measures to empower your research.

Raw 3-axis Accelerometer Data

Wearing Detection

Step Counts

Gait Speed

Advanced Gait Analysis

6MWT

Stride Velocity 95th Centile (SV95C)

Sleep Analysis

Sleep Detection

Activity Classification

Activity Counts

Body Position

Activity Intensity

Energy Expenditure

MWPA

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Actigraphy vs Polysomnography (PSG): key differences in sleep monitoring

Actigraphy and polysomnography (PSG) are two widely used methods for measuring sleep. While PSG is considered the gold standard for in-lab sleep studies, actigraphy enables continuous, real-world sleep monitoring over extended periods. Empatica’s platform complements polysomnography by enabling scalable, real-world monitoring beyond the lab, providing longitudinal insights that are not captured in single-night sleep studies.

Why choose Empatica Actigraphy?

Built for scalable, real-world evidence generation

Empatica’s actigraphy solution is designed to support decentralized and hybrid clinical studies, enabling continuous monitoring of sleep and activity in patients’ everyday lives. By combining wearable technology with remote data infrastructure, researchers can collect longitudinal, real-world evidence at scale.

Clinical-grade data beyond consumer wearables

Unlike consumer sleep trackers, Empatica devices are designed for clinical research and validated use cases. They provide objective, high-resolution data suitable for regulated environments, supporting reproducibility and consistency across studies.

Extending traditional actigraphy capabilities

Traditional actigraphy is typically limited to movement-based measurements. Empatica expands this approach through a multi-sensor platform and integrated digital biomarkers, enabling deeper insights into sleep, activity, and physiological signals within a single system.

Platform capabilities that support your trials

An all-in-one platform solution for clinical trials, designed to enable high-quality, continuous real-world data collection

Non-stop recording & seamless data transfer

Data visualizations & reports

Enhanced compliance reporting with site and study-level views

Cloud API integrations

Dedicated account management and support team

Provisioned phones

Data recomputation service

Patient app translated into 40+ languages

Patient and site-centric design to lower burden

EmbraceMini: The perfect actigraphy wearable

Compact and discreet, ideal to be worn next to a favourite watch or accessory
4x sensors: Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, Ambient Light Sensor
14+ days of battery
The smallest actigraphy device in clinical research
Fully modular

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An all-in-one solution for activity, sleep and cardiorespiratory measures

FDA-cleared and CE certified
PPG, EDA, Temperature, Accelerometer and Gyroscope sensors
Event marking button
On-board memory
Long battery life
Small and lightweight device
Hypoallergenic breathable band
Multiple form factors (can be worn on wrist, belt, ankle)
IP67 Waterproofing (up to 1m/3ft deep for 30 mins)
Wireless, automated and continuous data transfer
Winner of International Design Excellence Award and Chicago Athenaeum Good Design Award

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Find the form that fits

Elastic Strap

Enables EmbracePlus to be used with a longer, stretchable band, which allows the device to be worn around other body parts, such as the waist.

Belt clip

With over 40 digital measures and reports available to measure from a hip or lumbar position, participants can easily attach the device to their waistband or belt.

EmbraceMini Ankle Strap

Designed for a secure, comfortable fit at the ankle, supporting continuous monitoring and reliable data capture.

Tailored data collection with sensor modes

Sensor Modes are predefined configurations for EmbracePlus that enable the device to focus on collecting specific parameters that are key to your study.

Talk to our team to find out how sensor modes can enhance the data collection capabilities of the Empatica Health Monitoring Platform.

Dip into data on your dashboard

Get a quick look at your data with helpful biomarker visualizations in the Care Portal:

Step Counts
Sleep
SPO2
Respiratory Rate
EDA
Accelerometer

Actigraphy applications across therapeutic areas

Actigraphy is widely used across therapeutic areas to objectively measure sleep–wake patterns, physical activity, and circadian rhythms in real-world settings. Its ability to support continuous, longitudinal monitoring makes it particularly valuable in clinical research. Empatica’s platform enables consistent data collection across these therapeutic areas, supporting scalable and standardized analysis in diverse clinical studies.

Neurology

Actigraphy is used to monitor sleep disturbances, circadian rhythm disruptions, and activity patterns in conditions such as epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease, supporting the assessment of disease progression and treatment response.

Oncology

For patients experiencing cancer-related fatigue, actigraphy enables continuous monitoring of rest–activity cycles and recovery patterns, providing insights into patient well-being during and after treatment.

Psychiatry

In areas like depression and sleep disorders, actigraphy-derived sleep and activity metrics help quantify behavioral patterns, including sleep fragmentation, insomnia, and changes in daily activity levels.

Metabolic disorders

In conditions such as obesity and diabetes, actigraphy supports the evaluation of physical activity levels and sleep behaviors, which are key factors in metabolic health and treatment outcomes.

A legacy in scientific research

Empatica actigraphy wearables are used in thousands of peer-reviewed studies across neurology, oncology, immunology, and more, delivering validated actigraphy and reliable sleep and activity monitoring for clinical research and real-world studies.

What is actigraphy used for?

Actigraphy is used to measure sleep–wake patterns, physical activity, and circadian rhythms. In clinical research, it enables continuous monitoring of movement, activity levels, and behavioral patterns over extended periods in real-world settings.

How is actigraphy used to measure physical activity?

Actigraphy devices use accelerometers to continuously capture movement data, which is processed into activity metrics such as intensity, duration, and patterns of movement. This allows researchers to assess daily activity levels, mobility, and changes in behavior over time.

How are actigraphy devices different from a consumer sleep tracker?

Actigraphy devices are designed for clinical and research use, providing objective, validated measurements of activity and rest patterns. Consumer sleep trackers are typically intended for general wellness and may not meet the same standards for accuracy, consistency, or regulatory use.

What kind of data does an actigraphy device collect?

Actigraphy devices primarily collect accelerometer-based movement data, which can be translated into metrics such as activity levels, rest–activity cycles, sleep estimates, and circadian patterns for clinical and research analysis.

Can actigraphy be used beyond sleep monitoring?

Yes, actigraphy is widely used to assess physical activity, circadian rhythms, and behavioral patterns in addition to sleep. It supports applications such as monitoring mobility, evaluating treatment impact, and tracking real-world patient behavior in clinical studies.

Can actigraphy diagnose sleep disorders?

Actigraphy does not replace polysomnography for diagnosing sleep disorders, but it is widely used to support the assessment of sleep patterns, monitor treatment response, and evaluate sleep–wake disturbances over time.

What is WASO in actigraphy?

WASO (Wake After Sleep Onset) refers to the total time spent awake after initially falling asleep. It is one of several actigraphy-derived metrics used to assess sleep continuity alongside broader activity and rest patterns.

Wondering if our solutions and digital biomarkers fit your needs?

Reach out and a member of our team will be in touch with you as soon as possible.