The ultra light SleepView type 3 home sleep monitor from CleveMed is designed to be simple for patients, and cost effective for sleep labs.
Just shy of a year on the market, the SleepView from CleveMed has managed to carve a growing niche in the highly competitive world of home sleep monitoring. Sarah Weimer, director of Sleep Products at the Cleveland-based manufacturer, touts the device as the smallest and lightest home sleep monitor within the AASM-recommended Type 3 channel-set guidelines.
At a weight of approximately 2 ounces, the equipment is ergonomically designed for patients to perform a self test at home, while also working hand in hand with CleveMed’s eCrystal PSG Web Portal. The Web site is a place where sleep studies are uploaded for review and scoring by sleep technologists, then interpreted by board certified sleep physicians.
Easy for Patients
While Medicare approved home sleep testing last year, reimbursement still stands at just over $200. At that rate, Weimer points out that it is not cost effective for sleep labs, especially if sleep professionals must be involved with the setup every step of the way. “With that in mind, the goal with the SleepView was to make a device that fulfilled the channel set asked for by AASM, with the types of sensors that they like to see as well,” says Weimer. “At the same time, we wanted it to be very easy for patients to do a self hook up with minimal instruction.”
Clevemed was uniquely suited to do an incredibly small Type III device due to the company’s long history of producing wireless electrophysiology monitors. Working within the diminutive design parameters, engineers sought to avoid the more complex harness systems used by competitors. “We wanted it to be small and light enough that it could be supported by a traditional respiratory effort belt,” reveals Weimer. “It is easier for patients to hook themselves up. They don’t have to worry about extra mounting straps or the discomfort of having the device worn elsewhere on the body.”
Not surprisingly, patients appreciate how easy it is to put on the SleepView. For patients who think it may be too easy and question the procedure, engineers went an additional step with LED light indicators on the front that let patients know if they have hooked themselves up properly. “If they turn the device on, but they don’t have sensors on, there is a little light on the front of the device by each channel name that will light up red to let them know that they are not hooked up properly,” explains Weimer. “As they get each channel hooked up correctly, those lights will turn green to indicate that it is collecting a good signal. When the patient first turns the device on, those lights will stay on for 90 seconds, and then anytime during the night the patient can hit the ‘on’ button again to get another 30 seconds of feedback about whether the device is collecting good signals or not.”
Feedback on usability and success rates tabulated from sponsored tests have consistently shown that patients come back with valid data. “Other customers have been using our other product, the Sleep Scout, which is a little bit more traditional and a little bit more complicated for the patient to put on,” says Weimer. “It [the Scout] does not have the feedback, and we would have an increased number of unsuccessful studies with that product compared to this product. The immediate patient feedback on the SleepView lets patients know that they may not have a sensor in place properly, and they can fix it right away.”
Expanding the Market
Weimer agrees that the SleepView, and home testing in general, will likely expand the market for sleep labs by increasing access and awareness to potential patients. The undiagnosed masses will get into the treatment cycle, benefitting all parties throughout the continuum of care.
As more clinicians learn about the importance of sleep, referrals will also increase the flow of patients. “Patients are typically seeing their dentists or primary care physicians, and if those health care professionals are asking the right questions about sleep, it is just going to increase the number of people who are aware and getting tested,” says Weimer. “There is also the idea that home testing could harm the sleep lab by reducing the number of patients they are able to see, but I think that is a misconception.”
SleepView At a Glance
Hardware Dimensions: 3” x 2.6” x 0.7” (7.6 cm x 6.6 cm x 1.8 cm)
Weight: 2 oz (57 g) (approx.) with batteries
Power: 1 AAA battery
Memory: 1G internal memory
7 Dedicated Channels
1) Heart Rate
2) Pulse Oximetry
3) Airflow (pressure based)
4) Airflow (thermistor)
5) Snore (derived from airflow)
6) Respiratory Effort Belt (RIP)
7) Body Position
Software
SleepView works with the eCrystal PSG Web Portal, allowing treating physicians to initiate home sleep tests directly from their practices. Data from the SleepView is uploaded through the web portal to a network of professional technologists and sleep physicians for timely scoring and study interpretation. Later reports with recommended treatment or follow-up are retrieved by the treating physician. This patient monitoring system allows physicians to provide a continuum of care.
For more information: http://www.clevemed.com/SleepView/overview.shtml