Brisbane-based ResApp, which creates smartphone apps for the diagnosis and management of respiratory diseases, last week announced its plans to launch SleepCheck, an at-home obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) screening app. The company said it plans to launch SleepCheck for iOS on the App Store in the United Kingdom and Australia in the second quarter of this calendar year, with availability in additional countries and an Android version to follow.
HOW IT WORKS
To be used directly by consumers, SleepCheck is a smartphone app which uses clinically accurate algorithms to assess a person’s risk of OSA by analyzing their breathing and snoring sounds during sleep. The app requires no accessories or hardware other than the user’s smartphone.
In a 238 patient clinical study, ResApp’s algorithms correctly identified patients with OSA with sensitivities of 85% (mild OSA), 83% (moderate OSA) and 83% (severe OSA), and specificities of 73%, 80% and 90% when compared to an American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) Type II sleep study (full, but unattended polysomnography) performed simultaneously in the patient’s home.
SleepCheck is CE marked as a Class I medical device, which means it conforms to all European regulatory standards. SleepCheck will soon be listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG). SleepCheck does not provide a diagnosis and is not intended as a substitute for a full sleep study using polysomnography.
WHY IT MATTERS
Sleep apnea is the most common sleep breathing disorder affecting more than three in every ten men and nearly two in every ten women. Sleep apnea is when air stops flowing to one’s lungs for ten seconds or longer during sleep creating an ‘apnea’ event. In severe cases, this can happen more than 30 times per hour.
Studies have shown that 80% of people with sleep apnea are undiagnosed. Untreated, sleep apnea has been linked to serious complications such as heart disease, hypertension, stroke and type 2 diabetes, and has a major impact on population health. Deloitte Access Economics estimates that OSA costs the Australian economy $21.2 billion annually.
THE LARGER TREND
In February, ResApp announced it has raised $5 million to drive forward its European commercialization, MobiHealthNews reported. The company also recently completed an initial integration of its ResAppDx-EU into Australian startup Coviu’s telehealth platform. This integration will allow clinicians using Coviu’s platform to perform a remote respiratory assessment using ResApp’s clinically validated and Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved diagnostic test.
Last July, Sydney-based digital health company Sleepfit partnered with digital health engagement platform dacadoo to integrate sleep goals designed by Sleepfit on dacadoo.
ON THE RECORD
“We are excited to announce that SleepCheck will soon be available to download on the App Store,” said Tony Keating, CEO and Managing Director of ResApp. “Undiagnosed sleep apnea causes poor sleep and daytime tiredness, and can have a major impact on a person’s health. By simply placing their smartphone on their bedside table when they go to sleep, SleepCheck allows users to self-assess their risk of OSA, the first step in their path to treatment. There are no wires, no attachments, and the user can sleep comfortably in their own bed. It is backed by a large clinical study which demonstrated that the SleepCheck algorithms were able to accurately identify OSA when compared to a full at-home comprehensive sleep study.”
