sleep apnea app

While mobile smartphone apps are perhaps best associated with catching virtual Pokemon, posting to social media networks, streaming video and checking e-mail accounts, many mobile apps can also serve a valuable health benefit too - and we're not just talking about fitness apps. Take, for instance, a new app developed by researchers at the University of Washington and Oxford that can actually help determine if an individual has sleep apnea, a serious sleep disorder that's characterized by repeated lapses in breathing as one sleeps. It's called "ApneaApp" and it works by tracking an individual's breathing patterns as they sleep.

ApneaApp: The Basics

As we noted in the opening, sleep apnea is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition. It's also fairly common, impacting about 1 out of every 13 Americans. However, it's a fairly difficult condition to properly diagnose. While individuals may exhibit several symptoms that are associated with the condition, the best way to achieve a proper diagnosis is to spend the night in a hospital where breathing can be properly monitored. Not only is such an overnight stay expensive, but it also can't match the comfort and convenience of your own bed.

That's where the true value of a mobile app such as ApneaApp comes to play in its ability to diagnose sleep apnea without the hospital stay. All users need to do is activate it at night and then analyze the data in the morning. The app uses sound waves that emanate from the phone's speakers to track and analyze one's breathing patterns as they sleep. While this may sound complicated, the app's developers compare how it works as to how a bat navigates the nighttime canvas.

Is the app effective? To date, it has been tested on 37 patients and has delivered results between 95 and 99 percent accuracy when compared to a traditional polysomnography, correctly identifying 32 of the 37 test subjects. What's more is that the app can be administered over the course of several nights to get an accurate read on whether an individual has no signs of sleep apnea or mild, moderate or severe cases of the sleep disorder.

As of April 2015, the app was in the process of attempting to receive FDA approval.

Sleep apnea is a very serious sleep disorder. Aside from the danger that lapses in breathing bring, untreated sleep apnea has also been linked to high blood pressure, greater chance of suffering a stroke, increase in risk of heart disease, heightened risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and mood swings, daytime fatigue and irritability. It's why it's so important that sleep apnea is diagnosed and treated accordingly. And mobile apps like ApneaApp may soon be able to provide a big assist in the diagnosis of the condition.

For more information on sleep apnea, contact Kanehl Dental today.