Archive for the ‘Sleep Disorders’ Category

The Adventures of Mic Iver RPSGT: Story 1

Friday, March 12th, 2010



To see how Mic Iver RPSGT saves the night, check out this video!
www.clevemed.com/adventureRPSGT

On a less playful note: The Sapphire PSG sleep platform is small and wireless, integrating the headbox, amplifiers, transducers (of a typical PSG System), and data telemetry into one hand-held unit to transmit data from the patient. When using wireless PSG equipment, like the Sapphire PSG, there are fewer components, meaning easier setup and lower risk of individual component failure. Even setups outside of the lab become more feasible, and a comprehensive sleep diagnostic service can come to the patient.

Also, with wireless PSG, the patient is untethered, can get up during the sleep study and move around freely, to get a drink of water, use the restroom, etc, without needing to be untethered by the sleep tech each time; ultimately leading to a better night’s sleep for the patient, and potentially eliminating first night effect.

Sleep Study Network

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Poor quality of sleep tends to accompany common illnesses, and life stressors (including family and social structure changes); patients tend to visit their primary care physician (PCP) who has knowledge of these factors that are related with their sleep problems. Symptoms and complaints associated with Obstructive Sleep Apnea are often expressed at a higher frequency in the primary care practice setting.

Patients often go to a sleep lab for OSA diagnosis & evaluation. On many instances, the primary care physician looses direct contact with his/her patient’s sleep condition and overall care path. An alternative to sending patients to a sleep lab test is to begin the diagnosis and management process within the primary care setting, by utilizing newer technology that makes sleep diagnosis portable and more readily accessible.

CleveMed’s sleep study network connects the primary care physician to sleep technologists, and board certified sleep physicians, so that the primary doc is able to be involved in the patient’s continuum of care. Here’s how:

  • The PCP interviews the patient about his sleep health and medical history.
  • The nurse gives the SleepView (home sleep testing) kit to the patient with easy instructions on how to use the SleepView.
  • The self-administered sleep apnea test is completed with ease in the patient’s own bed. The patient returns the SleepView kit to the doctor’s office upon completion of the home sleep test.
  • The office staff uploads the sleep study data from the SleepView to CleveMed. The sleep data is scored by sleep technicians at CleveMed, and a board certified sleep physician interprets the study. The PCP is notified when a report is ready.
  • Finally, follow-up discussions are held with the patient to evaluate their therapy every three months or as needed.
  • This way, the PCP can maintain management of his/her patients’ sleep apnea and associated conditions.

    SleepView’s Photo-Story

    Friday, February 26th, 2010

    It all began when it was time for the needed photoshoot for SleepView, (our new baby among CleveMed’s family of sleep diagnostic devices). I went to Sarah (my boss) and said, “Who should be the model?” She paused a moment, then rattled off 2 names from the engineering department. “Maybe they would like to help?” she smiled sweetly.

    I emailed them both; a pleading, cajoling couple of sentences, and waited. Surprisingly, they seemed quite happy to switch gears for a bit, and the first affirmative came 48 minutes sooner than the other. So the choice was easy: Dominic.

    The day before the photo/video-shoot was quite a buzz of activity.

  • Props: our sleep-study area needed to look like “home” because…? You guessed right, SleepView is a portable sleep monitor, especially suited for home sleep testing.
  • Costumes: PJs that not only match, but look stunning with SleepView!
  • SleepView itself with its accessories… I was making & re-making lists of all the photos we needed to take.
  • Sarah and I did not forget to caution Dominic, “Try not to do any construction-home-remodeling work before tomorrow, ok? We can’t have bleeding hands or jammed fingernails. Maybe you should consider a manicure…? Your hands need to look good holding the SleepView.”
  • Dominic was kind enough to not back out of the whole thing while he had the chance.

    Tony (our photographer) was just amazing. Just being in Tony’s studio, seemed to make the creative juices flow. We were spouting all kinds of ideas for future ad campaigns: one part of me marveled, yet another part of me cringed. But we needed this rambling I think… Dominic needed to take his mind off the discomfort he must have surely endured, from holding his hands out over a white board, and obeying 5-syllable instructions from Tony: “An-inch-to-the-left.” “Turn-device-clock-wise. No, your clock-wise.” “Curve your index finger a little toward you?” (No kidding, Dominic left for vacation the next day).

    Finally, Tony dropped off our DVD and I must say that Dominic’s hands look good holding the SleepView and the SleepView looks just great: small, compact, and oh-so-easy to handle! But Tony was not the only one who took pictures that day. I just had to sneak a couple of cell phone pics that I have posted on our Facebook page. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

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    SleepScout’s role in Dental Sleep Medicine

    Friday, February 5th, 2010

    CleveMed’s SleepScout is a compact, portable sleep monitor used to aid in assessment of sleep disordered breathing outside the traditional sleep lab: in a hospital setting (with iPSG™), or typically perfect for self-administered home sleep testing (even remotely attended with DreamPort™) right in the patient’s home. But here is another way to use the SleepScout: Dentists with an interest in sleep, snoring (sleep disordered breathing), and remedies for snoring through oral appliances and surgeries can use SleepScout to perform take-home sleep tests for their patients.

      Here’s why the SleepScout is a great option when considering a sleep recorder for the dental office:

    • SleepScout uses AASM recommended Type 3 channel set
    • SleepScout’s accessories are very cost-effective
    • SleepScout can monitor effectiveness of treatment with CPAP and oral appliances
    • SleepScout gives an easy-to-read report with auto-scoring of respiratory events
    • SleepScout records EMG to monitor Bruxism
    • With SleepScout you have next day results

    These are just a few reasons to consider the SleepScout, and you can read more details here. Also, see a sample report from the SleepScout portable sleep monitor at www.CleveMed.com/DentalSleep. And if you haven’t seen the SleepScout overview video, check it out!