As sleep, circadian rhythm, and physical activity monitoring become increasingly vital in both clinical and research settings, the choice of actigraphy device can significantly influence data quality, analysis options, and long-term research value.
Two of the most widely used actigraphy solutions are the GENEActiv Raw Data Accelerometer and the MotionWatch 8. Each has a proven track record, but their capabilities and data handling approaches differ, making them more suitable for different use cases.
This article compares both devices across several categories to help researchers and clinicians select the right tool for their work.
Data Depth and Future-Proofing: Why Raw Data Matters
The MotionWatch 8 is a medical-grade actigraphy device built for clinical efficiency. It offers validated sleep, circadian, and activity metrics via its companion MotionWare software and includes ambient light tracking, an event marker button, and fast USB-based data transfer. It’s easy to deploy, has a three-month battery life, and integrates well into day-to-day workflows for sleep clinics and hospitals.
In contrast, GENEActiv provides raw, unfiltered, high-resolution accelerometry data from a medical-grade tri-axial sensor. The device captures fine motor activity, light, and temperature in an open format (e.g., .bin, .AWD, .CSV) that integrates with tools such as R, Matlab, or Actiware. This approach gives researchers the flexibility to apply custom algorithms, conduct machine learning analysis, and extract new digital measures over time.
As data analysis methods evolve, GENEActiv’s raw data ensures that your dataset is future-proofed, a key benefit for longitudinal studies and publications in emerging fields like digital biomarkers.
Usability and Patient Compliance
Both devices are designed for long-term wear. However, GENEActiv offers up to two months of continuous data collection without needing to be charged or removed, making it a true ‘fit and forget’ solution. This minimises participant burden, enhances adherence, and ensures more complete datasets in free-living environments.
The MotionWatch 8, while also lightweight and waterproof, uses a user-replaceable coin-cell battery with a typical three-month life. It is well suited to structured clinical settings or research where standardised data outputs are sufficient, and minimal post-processing is preferred.
Sleep Analysis and Reporting
The MotionWare software used with MotionWatch 8 provides built-in reports on sleep efficiency, fragmentation, circadian rhythm stability (via NPCRA), and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. It’s an ideal tool for teams that need to quickly generate clinically relevant reports with minimal processing.
GENEActiv, now compatible with Actiware software, has expanded its utility for sleep researchers and clinicians. In addition, the new GENEActiv Sleep Toolkit enables detailed sleep scoring and visualisation directly from raw data. Hosted in a secure, ISO27001-compliant web environment, the toolkit provides metrics such as:
- Total Sleep Duration
- Sleep Efficiency
- Sleep Onset Latency
- WASO (Wake After Sleep Onset)
- Sleep/Wake patterns and actograms.
This makes GENEActiv a powerful and flexible alternative to discontinued platforms like Actiwatch and Actiware, with added transparency and control over your data.
Research Applications and Validation
Both devices are TGA registered and used in peer-reviewed research.
- MotionWatch 8 is a well-established tool in clinical sleep studies, where validated metrics and ease of use are a priority.
- GENEActiv has been validated in over 1,500 scientific publications and 115 clinical trials across 20+ therapeutic areas, including neurology, cardiology, dermatology, paediatrics, and sleep research. Its role in real-world evidence generation makes it a top choice for public health studies, large cohort projects, and behavioural research.
Its versatility across body sites, ability to capture subtle motion (e.g. tremor, scratching), and open-data policy make it uniquely capable of supporting complex, data-rich studies at scale.
|
Feature |
GENEActiv |
MotionWatch 8 |
|
Data Format |
Raw, unfiltered, open format |
Processed via proprietary software |
|
Sleep Toolkit/Reports |
Sleep scoring + Actiware-compatible |
Built-in clinical reports via MotionWare |
|
Battery Life |
Up to 2 months (no recharge needed) |
3 months (coin-cell battery) |
|
Wear Locations |
Wrist, leg, arm, etc. |
Wrist only |
|
Waterproof Rating |
100% waterproof |
IPX7 (freshwater) |
|
Data Access & Flexibility |
Fully open-source + SDKs |
Closed system with raw export option |
|
Best For |
Research, ML analysis, longitudinal studies |
Clinical sleep studies, workflow integration |
The Future of Actigraphy
If your focus is clinical workflow, standardised metrics, and ease of reporting, the MotionWatch 8 remains a strong, reliable choice.
However, for researchers and clinicians looking to capture more granular, high-resolution data, build custom digital measures, and ensure future-ready datasets that evolve with new analytical techniques – GENEActiv is the smarter investment.
With unmatched flexibility, open data structures, new sleep scoring tools, and validation across thousands of studies, GENEActiv goes beyond traditional actigraphy to offer true insight into patient behaviour, treatment efficacy, and real-world health patterns.
