Sleep apnea devices can make diagnosis from your home

By: SAVANNAH THOMASARRIGO - For the North County Times | Saturday, October 6, 2007 3:35 PM PDT ∞

Demonstrating the Watch Pat 100: The device is worn on the wrist and provides an alternative to laboratory sleep tests. It uses a noninvasive finger probe and measures the tone of the body’s peripheral arteries, which indicates respiratory events while asleep, such as stopping breathing.
SAVANNAH THOMASARRIGO For the North County Times
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For many people suspected of suffering from the sleep disorder sleep apnea, spending the night in a sleep laboratory is inevitable. Wearing electronic monitoring devices while lying in bed at the lab, patients are asked to enjoy a normal night's rest as their sleep pattern is monitored for irregularities.

Progressive Medical, a Carlsbad-based respiratory company, is among several businesses helping to change the diagnosis process for sleep apnea from a trip to the laboratory to an easy slumber at the patient's own home.

Sleep apnea, a common disorder, is a condition in which a person fails to breathe during sleep. Causes of the disorder range from body deformities to lapses in the brain's signal to breathe, and result in the body going into distress in an attempt to get air. Symptoms of sleep apnea include snoring, irritability and depression, and daytime sleepiness.

Laboratory tests for the disorder are often uncomfortable, and some patients find it hard to sleep normally in the laboratory.

"People come into the sleep lab and they don't sleep very well because of the novelty of the environment," said Dr. Bradley Schnierow, medical director of San Diego Sleep Medicine and assistant clinical professor at the UC San Diego School of Medicine. "You glue wires to people's heads, you attach electrodes to people's scalps, we put a little belt on their chest and their abdomen ... and with all of those things glued to you, we say, 'OK, go to sleep.'"

In 2006, Progressive Medical introduced in Southern California a self-contained screening device for sleep disorders, the Watch Pat 100. Produced by Itamar Medical, a medical technology company based in Israel, the Watch Pat 100 allows patients to be tested for sleep apnea at their homes, in their beds.

Patients take the device home and sleep with it on their wrists as it records their sleep patterns. They then return it to Progressive Medical for assessment and diagnosis. Other similar devices work along the same lines.

The Watch Pat 100 uses a noninvasive finger probe and measures the tone of the body's peripheral arteries, which indicates respiratory events while asleep such as stopping breathing. The device also measures pulse rate, movement, and sleep and wake states, all of which can signify a sleep disorder.

"The Watch Pat as a piece of technology has got a lot of good features. (It is) more sensitive at picking up sleep apnea than the traditional study," Schnierow said.

Traditional laboratory tests screen for irregular breaths by measuring a decrease in airflow through the mouth or nose. However, the lab's measurement is not sensitive to more subtle changes in the body that accompany an irregular breathing cycle, changes that the Watch Pat can pick up on, Schnierow said.

For Diane O'Grady of Oceanside, using the device instead of a laboratory sleep test to screen for sleep apnea made sense.

"I was more comfortable because I was in my own bed, my own room," O'Grady said. "It was really easy to use. You just wear it overnight."

After years of feeling tired and depressed, she said, she spent one night with the Watch Pat 100 and was diagnosed with sleep apnea. According to the test, she had been waking up 30 times an hour and stopped breathing 18 times per hour in an average night.

Since her diagnosis, O'Grady was fitted for a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machine, a device worn on the face at night to provide constant airflow when she is sleeping. This ensures that her breathing does not stop and allows O'Grady a full night's sleep.

"I wake up in the morning ... just really happy," she said.

Although there are an estimated 70 million undiagnosed sleep apnea cases in the United States, the number of sleep laboratories is not sufficient to test each person, Progressive Medical manager Melanie Arledge said.

Using the Watch Pat 100 or similar at-home devices can take pressure off the labs, which often have a waiting list of one month or more.

Because the Watch Pat 100 is self-sufficient, it is less expensive to use than the laboratory test that requires a lab technician's presence to monitor sleep, Arledge said.

"I think the big questions is how difficult it will be to get a prescription (for treatment of sleep apnea) based on this (at-home) study," as opposed to having a lab test, said Edward Grandi, executive director of the American Sleep Apnea Association.

Although the at-home test is more convenient for many patients, some insurance companies reimburse only for sleep tests conducted in the laboratory, said Grandi. He recommends checking with individual insurance providers for reimbursement requirements before using the at-home device.

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Melanie wrote on Oct 8, 2007 6:32 AM:There isn't difficulty in solidifying a prescription for either the study or the PAP device if warranted. The majority of insurances are allowing the FDA approved device = Watch_PAT 100. They are able to see the tremendous savings studying the patient early and stopping the ongoing disease process. With the ability to test accurately in the home, the cost drops dramatically, making it easier for the patient to pay cash if needed.-

kris wrote on Oct 8, 2007 6:49 AM:Kaiser also conducts an at home sleep test that I used and was diagnosed with sleep apnea.-

it would be nice wrote on Oct 8, 2007 10:56 AM:to have more info on how to get in touch with this company and others. i do not have insurance so i have to pay as i go. this would be less expensive and less hassle. it is amazing how many people are constantly diagnosed with this problem, but a lot of it has to do with weight and what we eat.

Joan wrote on Oct 10, 2007 8:58 AM:This looks great! Easier than going to a sleep lab, and probably less expensive for all. Thank you!

Shannon wrote on Oct 11, 2007 12:08 PM:If you need any additional information about Progressive Medical and sleep apnea please contact us at: 760.448.4448 or 800.491.2292 or check out or website www.HeSnores.org Sleep...Breathe...Live!

Jason the Sleep Doc wrote on Oct 17, 2007 1:43 PM:I think that people should be VERY careful when dealing with their health. Rembember, you only have one life. Why skimp on your health when it comes to deadly sleep disorders like sleep apnea? The gold standard for testing for sleep apnea is a full sleep study. The American Academy of Sleep, and the American Sleep Association have not endorsed these portable/inexpensive sleep tests. ... There are plenty of sleep labs to handle these patients. The average wait-time for a sleep labs is only 2.5 weeks.

Shannon wrote on Oct 19, 2007 2:28 PM:The Watch_Pat 100 is FDA approved 4 channel device. A full sleep study. Why then would American Academy of Sleep be very interested in portable monitoring? The ambulatory portable monitoring can speed up the treatment process, while also boosting the crucial component of CPAP compliance.You choose when to go to sleep and when to get up in the morning. It is very simple, cost effective and very accurate! Progressive Medical will make assessing in your situation convenient, affordable, and accurate using the technology of the Watch_Pat 100. And there ARE not enough sleep labs to sleep undiagnosed patients in a timely manner.

Jason the Sleep Doc wrote on Oct 28, 2007 5:29 AM:Actually, There ARE enough sleep labs. If you look at the letter from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine TO HCFA you will see the link to the data that states that there are enough labs to handle the patients. Futhermore, there are better portable units then the Watch-Pat. Stop marketing your services so hard and do the right thing for patients.

Mary wrote on Nov 5, 2007 2:45 PM:The big insurance providers, such as Blue Cross and Medicare don't recognise the results of a Watch Pat home study, or any other home sleep study. It's only the HMO's that are interested in lower costs rather than accuracy that will pay for a home test.

Mary wrote on Nov 5, 2007 2:49 PM:As one who does medical billing I can tell you that the big providers such as Medicare and Blue Cross don't pay for Watch Pat, or other home apnea studies. It's only the HMO's that do.

SleepyD wrote on Feb 26, 2008 7:29 AM:Duract, Posicor, Rezulin, Trovan, Lotronex, Crestor, Seldane, Hismanal, Propulsid, Raxar, PPA, Baycol, Accutane, Avandia………
What do these drugs have in common? All these drugs have been approved by the FDA (AKA Big Pharma) and have been linked to numerous deaths. And there are countless life saving drugs that have not been approved by the FDA. Letting the FDA control what is best for the patient is like “fighting the war on peace” makes little sense.
A Registered Polysomnographic Technologist is a specially trained professional. They are taught taught to recognize the over 90 recognized sleep disorders. Sleep apnea is one that can be easily recognized. It is the subtle nuances of sleep and brainwave interpretation that make witnessed Polysomnograms the gold standard. Home testing may have value for insomnia, circadian rhythm disorders, and possibly RLS, and movement disorders. Again without seeing the brainwaves how will you know if there is a medication effect, EKG abnormalities, neurological defecits etc. What if something comes off? Many actions take place in the night and if you have to retest because of errors or a lost signal from the home testing device; I don’t see the savings of time or money with that.
I could go on forever. I have not heard one good argument for home testing. If the argument is to save some money; well that’s on you. Why drive a Yugo when you could have a Toyota Camry. I hope people have the sense to stick with something RELIABLE.

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