CleveMed Blogs

To see how Mic Iver RPSGT serves the underserved… www.clevemed.com/adventureRPSGT

On a less playful note: The Sapphire PSG complete sleep study platform is small and wireless, and fits in a portable brief-case of sorts. Because it operates wirelessly, it saves a lot of time and lab set-up costs, and the hotel/sleep lab facility won’t have to be expensively hard-wired with cables. Sapphire PSG uses state-of-the-art, wireless hardware with two frequency options (902-928 MHZ or 2.4-2.485 GHz.) built into the system; you can choose the model that best suits your environment. (It’s also more convenient for the patient who need not be tethered to the acquisition system).

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.

The CleveMed Sleep Team is at Sleep 2009 in Seattle, WA at Booth #929. Doors opened just a few hours ago and the team is very excited to present the pioneering concept of PSG Anywhere^™ to expand the reach of your sleep services.

Stop by and meet the team at Booth #929. And while you’re there, fill out a card for your chance to win an Amazon Kindle! The drawing for the winning card will be held at noon on Wednesday (June 10, 2009).

CleveMed will also be launching DreamPort^™ (coming soon), which expands the reach of your sleep by allowing remotely attended sleep studies to be done from virtually anywhere –over the internet! For the first time, the technologist can remotely monitor the patient data and video in real-time from almost any location using an extremely user-friendly and portable bedside system. DreamPort is ideal for testing patients who may have difficulty coming to the sleep lab and allows for cost effective research studies in patient homes.

Make sure to follow CleveMed at Sleep 2009 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/CleveMed. Check out what a fellow-tweeter said: ikg_agent@CleveMed Much victory…Booth #929 the way of the future

In-lab sleep testing requires extensive resources: onsite staff, medical equipment, and a full bedroom set. Not only is this an additional expense for insurance payers, but the unfamiliar sleep setting can affect the patient’s normal sleep patterns and skew the test results. Expanding the labs to home sleep testing solves many of these problems.

Familiar Environment:

While some extreme conditions still require in-lab sleep testing, many patient populations are well suited for home sleep diagnostic testing. These groups include those tested for occupational reasons, patients with a high probability of sleep apnea, the home bound and those suffering from chronic pain. The unfamiliar in-lab environment can lead to increased anxiety for the patient and inconvenience to those caring for them. For patients with chronic pain who experience difficulty in traveling to a sleep lab. It also is more convenient for the patient’s caregiver who would normally be needed to accompany them during the overnight study. As the desire for home testing continues to grow, new technology will continue to improve diagnostic devices that will increase the reliability of home testing and will expand the number of patients that can be successfully tested in the home. Furthermore, moving a patient who requires a paid medical assistant can be expensive for the patient and/or the insurance payer.

Affordability:

The changing reimbursement and acceptance of home sleep testing by insurance payers and sleep professionals will open up opportunities for improved patient care and will provide sleep labs with a means to expand the reach of their sleep services.

Traditional Sleep Labs Can Expand:

In addition to these benefits for the patients, traditional sleep labs will also benefit from expanding their sleep services to include home testing. Typically overcrowded labs will only have deal with those who require in-lab testing, and they can service a larger total volume of patients since they do not all need to be onsite. Each patient population can then receive a faster diagnosis and therefore faster treatment initiation, without the need for additional beds for the sleep lab. The traditional sleep labs, by incorporating home sleep testing, dramatically improve the care for their patients and the ease of diagnosis for their staff.

Overall, home sleep testing will greatly improve the patient care, and new technologies will continue to improve the quality of at-home care.

This post draws on the experience of several experts at CleveMed and is an adaptation from “Home Sleep Testing Can Improve Patient Care,” by Sarah Weimer, as seen in Sleep Diagnosis and Therapy, January-February 2008