Study showed that BresoDX^® can distinguish patients with central from obstructive sleep apnea using overnight breath sound recordings

Milan, Italy, September 12, 2017

A study showed that a BresoDX^® sleep study was able to distinguish patients with central from obstructive sleep apnea. Data from the study were presented in an oral presentation at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress 2017 on Sept 10-13 in Milan, Italy.

Invented at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, BresoDX^® is the world’s first cordless, single-user, home sleep test device used as an aid in diagnosing sleep apnea. It records breath sounds and movement using a cordless frame over the mouth and nose. BresoDX^® aims to provide a simpler and more accessible sleep test without compromising accuracy.

Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Hisham Alshaer, gave an oral presentation, “Distinguishing patients with central from obstructive sleep apnea using overnight breath sound recordings” during the session entitled “Central sleep apnea – Consequences and comorbidities of obstructive sleep apnea” on September 12, 2017, during the ERS Congress. The data presented are from a study with 52 subjects using BresoDX^® while undergoing a simultaneous full overnight laboratory sleep study (polysomnography). Respiratory events were extracted from the BresoDX^® recording including turbulence, frequency content, and snoring distribution. Acoustic features and age were used to train an artificial intelligence algorithm using polysomnography scoring as the reference. A subject was classified as having central sleep apnea if 50% or more of respiratory pauses (apneas and hypopneas) were central. The results showed that BresoDX^®had 85.7% sensitivity, 88.9% specificity, and 88.5% accuracy in detecting the type of sleep apnea vs. polysomnogram. BresoTEC will continue to advance this method with the goal to make it available for physicians using BresoDX^®.

“Although central sleep apnea is much less common than obstructive sleep apnea, being able to distinguish between the two using an overnight sleep study recorded in the home gives physicians additional confidence that home sleep testing can increase access to accurate diagnosis and hence care for the many people living with untreated sleep apnea”, says Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Hisham Alshaer.

The research behind the study was supported by the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE), MaRS Innovation, Ontario Brain Institute (OBI), National Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Federal Economic Development Agency Ontario (FedDev), and Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation.

About BresoTEC Inc.
BresoTEC, a Canadian company based in Toronto, develops and commercializes products for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea and related health conditions.

BresoTEC’s first product, BresoDX^®, is an innovative and simple home sleep test that uses acoustic and movement analysis technology as in aid in diagnosing sleep apnea. BresoDX^® received regulatory approval from Health Canada (license) in December 2014 and from the European Commission (CE marking) in February 2016.

The BresoDX^® technology was developed at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute of the University Health Network (UHN) by Dr. Geoff Fernie, Dr. Douglas Bradley and Dr. Hisham Alshaer. The technology was licensed to BresoTec; founded by UHN and MaRS Innovation in 2012.

About sleep apnea
Sleep apnea is a condition characterized by repetitive cessation of breathing that disrupts sleep and leads to excessive daytime sleepiness. It affects approximately 10% of the adult population globally. It is treatable, but less than 15% of people with the condition have been diagnosed. Left untreated, sleep apnea leads to serious health complications, including a three-to-four times higher risk of developing hypertension, stroke and heart failure. It is also associated with a similar increase in the risk of traffic accidents due to sleepiness.
The low rate of diagnosis is mainly due to the lack of access to, and the substantial cost and inconvenience of undergoing overnight testing in a sleep laboratory as well as the complexity of existing home sleep tests. BresoDX^® is designed to meet the need for a reliable, simpler technology for sleep apnea diagnosis.

For more information, please contact:
Julie Brogren
Chief Operating Officer
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (+1) 647 985 9239