CardioNet, the only pure play wireless health company that has gone public, began selling a sleep disorders clinical indicator, called SomNet. The company believes that SomNet has the potential to identify patients with a high likelihood of sleep disorders by measuring cyclic variation of heart rate (CVHR), a rhythm that is caused by repeated arousals from sleep because of the disorders.

"There is a high prevalence of sleep disorders like sleep apnea in the cardiovascular and arrhythmia population," said Randy Thurman, CEO of CardioNet in a company press release.

"Although slightly less sensitive than more labor intensive human overreading, the MCOT system and SomNet may provide a platform for efficiently identifying patients with severe sleep disorders, like sleep apnea, in a large population," said Dr. Phyllis K. Stein, Ph.D., Research Associate Professor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine, after overseeing a pilot of 80 patients.

mobihealthnews reported on rumors around the time of CardioNet's acquisition of Biotel that the company was looking to leverage its technology for diagnosing sleep apnea. 

For more on SomNet, check out the company's press release.

Sleep apnea was also on Dr. Eric Topol's list of top ten targets for wireless health -- click here to read about the others.