Connected sleep devicemaker ResMed today released the AirSense 11, its latest CPAP machine iteration, which includes a host of new features to treat obstructive sleep apnea.

The new machine has many of the same specs as ResMed’s previous device, the AirSense 10, but also includes exclusive access to new features. These include device set-up tutorials on the myAir patient engagement app, personalized care guidance and remote patient monitoring through the AirView platform.

It comes equipped with algorithms that deliver breath-by-breath therapy adjustments and provide nightly breathing data, such as the number of time a user spends using CPAP therapy, the number of sleep apnea events per hour, mask leaks and the number of times the mask was removed. AirSense 11 can also make remote software updates.

“AirSense 11’s new tailored features, along with our myAir patient engagement app, help give people the support they need to use PAP – the gold standard for treating sleep apnea – comfortably and confidently every night,” Jim Hollingshead, ResMed’s president of sleep and respiratory care, said in a statement.

“And when digital health helps guide patients, it enables clinicians to provide great care to all their patients more efficiently.”

ResMed is launching the AirSense 11 starting in the U.S., and expects to add more locations. It is compatible with all of the company’s existing masks, according to the announcement.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Sleep apnea is a condition where people have abnormal breathing while they sleep, causing multiple extended pauses in breath. It is associated with numerous comorbidities, including hypertension, obesity, depression, acid reflux, diabetes and asthma, according to the International Archives of Otorhinolaryngology.

The condition is common among the general public, but even more so among people with hypertension, with a prevalence rate of roughly 50%, according to Integrated Blood Pressure Control.

Of the sleep apnea therapies, CPAP machines are considered to be the gold standard treatment method, Integrated Blood Pressure Control says. They are “very effective” at stopping obstructive respiratory events in people with moderate to severe sleep apnea.

THE LARGER TREND

Outside of its sleep products, ResMed went on a bit of an M&A kick back in 2018 when it strengthened its software-as-a-service offerings by acquiring MatrixCare and boosted its respiratory health portfolio with its Propeller Health purchase.

Within the sleep apnea space, there’s Itamar Medical, which recently broadened the capabilities of its at-home sleep apnea diagnostic testing line, WatchPAT. This February, Signifier Medical Technologies got FDA De Novo clearance for its first-of-a-kind daytime sleep apnea treatment called eXciteOSA.

Last year, ResApp launched an at-home sleep apnea screening app. That same year, Withings released an under-the-mattress sleep-tracking mat that can be used to detect sleep apnea.

Royal Philips is another player in sleep apnea with its connected CPAP machines and wearable sleep sensors. But earlier this summer the company recalled a number of its ventilators, BiPAP and CPAP machines due to potential health risks.

Following the recall notice, ResMed announced that its products were not subject to the recall, saying its devices use a different material versus the one Philips used in its recalled machines.