Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login
Launch HN: Helio Sleep (YC S21) – One-stop portal for sleep apnea (heliosleep.com)
158 points by maxgreenfeld on March 22, 2022 | hide | past | favorite | 185 comments
Hello HN! We’re Helio Sleep (https://www.heliosleep.com). We help treat sleep apnea at home using sleep tests, best-in-class treatment devices, and board-certified physicians. We prescribe and deliver medical equipment, so that patients can get care affordably and easily from their homes.

An estimated 30M Americans suffer from sleep apnea. Getting diagnosis, treatment devices, and ongoing support can be difficult, and is getting harder, because fewer physicians are practicing sleep medicine. There is a serious "conversion funnel" problem. 50% of patients give up before making it to a sleep specialist; of those that get to a sleep specialist, 50% don't get a sleep study; and of those that do get care, more than a third fail to continue within 6 months. As a result, 24M Americans are currently untreated, leaving them tired and also at risk for serious health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

Clearly, a lot more support is needed. That's our intention with Helio Sleep. We coordinate the care journey by connecting patients directly with sleep specialists, following up to make sure they have access to treatment, and coaching them to help them stay with it.

We encountered this problem repeatedly with family and friends who were having difficulties getting diagnosed and treated for sleep problems. Because of our backgrounds in digital health, we knew we could assemble a process to do something about it. We had previously worked at digital health companies including Medallion, Truepill, Counsyl, and Q Bio, building tools for patient education, telemedicine networks, pharmacy fulfillment, and automated reporting. We knew a lot about the difficulties of delivering and supporting prescription medical devices for at-home care.

One of the biggest challenges for such a solution is the complexity of the healthcare system. There are regulatory barriers to operating a provider network and a licensed durable medical equipment supplier. We also need to coordinate with payers and manufacturers. We’re building tools to coordinate all of these steps and provide a seamless experience.

Sleep apnea lies at the intersection of medical and dental treatment in the US, so due to US billing structures, patients typically aren't presented with all treatment options. There is a need for a sleep apnea 'portal' where everything relevant is addressed, and nothing major falls through the cracks.

At Helio Sleep, patients can self-refer or be referred through their medical or dental provider. They are evaluated for sleep apnea through a protocol-driven provider consult and a home sleep test. They then select from a range of evidence-driven therapies to treat their sleep apnea, and also their snoring if that’s needed. To help patients adhere to their treatments, we follow up with them, closely monitoring efficacy and adjusting care as required.

We went live at the end of February, offering consultations with licensed providers, home sleep tests interpreted by board-certified sleep physicians, and treatment devices including oral appliances and sleep positioners from industry-leading manufacturers, and we look forward to adding other treatment options including CPAP. We make money in an old-fashioned way by charging for diagnostic and treatment devices and for provider consults. We currently accept cash payment, and we’ll be adding insurance coverage. Getting medical care in the US is expensive, and we’re committed to finding ways to extend access to as many people as possible.

We’re excited to share what we’re working on and look forward to your thoughts! If you have or suspect you have sleep apnea, we’d be really interested to hear about any experiences that you’ve had in getting care. If you’re curious about your risk, one of the most widely used sleep apneas screeners is the STOP-BANG questionnaire. You can find a version of it here: https://www.heliosleep.com/quiz. And if you’re a healthcare professional, we’d be interested to hear about your experience with delivering care for patients. If anyone would prefer to reach out directly, we can be reached by email at support@heliosleep.com. We look forward to your comments!




Many of the vendors of medical devices in this area have extensive automated telemetry that isn't under the control of the patient, often even preventing the patient from accessing that data, or gatekeeping that access through healthcare providers. As you move forward into more advanced treatment options, do you plan to address this and keep the patient in control?


Absolutely - there is no good reason a patient should be blocked from their data. It is rather surprising that it is common for resellers to block patient facing views of their data that manufacturers have engineered into their products.


> It is rather surprising that it is common for resellers to block patient facing view

Is it though?

To be clear I'm all for letting patients get access to their own data and think it should be required, but I totally understand why companies would limit their liability by locking consumers out of their own data.

Patients are notoriously bad at interpreting their own data and test results. That last thing you want are patients changing their own treatment because the misinterpret their own data and then blame the device.


I primarily get medical care through Mercy, a large health system in the Midwestern U.S. I can see test results immediately through their online portal. At the top is this statement:

"We believe you have the right to see your results as soon as they’re available. However, this means you may see results before your provider does. In some cases, results can be serious or hard to understand. If this concerns you, you may want to wait a few days to hear from your provider or, after waiting, message your provider."

I have no problem with that and thing it is a great thing.


If I want, I can get access to all sorts of things from my medical provider that I’m not qualified to interpret.

Just by connecting Apple Health to my health care system, I can see every lab result, most of which I’m not qualified to interpret.

My brother had a CT scan, and upon request, got a DVD with the scan data and a viewer for that data.

If my healthcare provider prevented me from seeing this info, I’d find another provider.

Getting back to the core question: is it surprising?

I don’t think it’d be surprising in the consumer or enterprise spaces where lock-in is a feature. But I don’t think that automatically extends to healthcare, where such restrictions are extremely problematic, and threaten my ability to get care from my provider of choice.

(And to clarify, I don’t think this is good or acceptable for consumer/enterprise products either, but the implications there are different, where I might just choose another vendor - a choice I might not have for medical devices).


This seems like an American-centric view. I've heard in some other countries, patients have full control over their medical records, they take the records with them from doctor to doctor.


Last thing I want is this completely insane liability system we have that somehow puts the responsibility for a person misinterpreting data on the data provider.


Came here to say this. And not just preventing patient access to the data, but locking the ability to change settings in a reasonable manner, without having to con$ult with a "doctor" (really an admin at the doctor's office) for each tiny increase in air pressure. It's one of the reasons I gave up on the whole CPAP thing.


Same, until I realized it's just a key sequence to get in to the machines.

For me it's hold two buttons down to reveal the settings. Navigate to the setting, change the setting. Done. Fisher-Paykel.

I think they lock this behind this setting because they don't want amateurs blowing out their lungs.


~liability~


I’m in favor of people being able to get the data from their machines, but letting users manipulate the prescribed CPAP settings related to pressure and flow? Someone is going to get killed.


Do you use a CPAP machine? It’s a simple device that blows air through your nose hard enough to keep the airway open. It doesn’t take an intelligent person to operate or adjust one. One would have to be one of them dumbest people in human history to cause injury with one, let alone kill yourself.


CPAP machines do have some danger: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/can-cpap-machines-increas...


Patients are in a far better position to manipulate their machines than doctors are. Doctors barely look at the data, maybe twice a year for literally 30 seconds. They meet with the patient for five minutes. A lot of patients are prescribed CPAPs from pulmonologists who don't specialize in sleep disorders and aren't even qualified in any meaningful sense.

I move around a lot so I've been to a bunch of doctors for apnea, and I assure you that I am better qualified than most of them to review my data and adjust my machine.


It's obscene. ResMed includes a SIM in their devices that uploads usage data to them. This isn't disclosed in any meaningful way to patients.


I have sleep apnea. Getting my CPAP was a life-altering event. It was also damn bloody expensive, even on insurance.

What I want now is a better CPAP at lower cost, and access to the data it gathers, and the ability to share that with my health care professionals of choice.


Untrue. With most machines, you can download a single application to pull data. You only need to stick an SD card in the SD card slot.

https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/


Why no CPAP?

Any sleep apnea solution that doesn't even offer CPAP feels inherently suspect and fringe. Especially when you just kind of gloss over it.

I've been very happy with CPAP for over 20 years. If it ain't broke why fix it?


CPAP is the gold standard in treatment, and we'll be supporting it in the next few months. But it doesn't work for everyone, so we're also offering validated alternatives as options for patients who aren't interested in CPAP or are noncompliant.


That makes sense. I might suggest to explicitly address this. I think you may be underestimating the potential for visitors to your site to see it as some kind of a promotion of fringe/alternative/unorthodox solutions. Snake oil. The lack of CPAP without any explicit discussion of why you don't offer it immediately raised flags in my mind that this is perhaps a bit of a scam.


We appreciate this feedback. We'll update the language and indicate that CPAP is coming soon.


Does this mean you don’t want to buy a foam trapezoid with a strap for nearly $200?


I use an oral appliance. There were a lot of barriers to get it, and I had to coordinate between an orthodontist and a sleep specialist. CPAP is pretty streamlined already, so it is possible they targeted oral appliance first because it is a good use case for getting the most value out of their business model


Great point. There's definitely a lack of coordinated care between dental and medical providers that we're looking to solve.


It looks like they're offering an oral device that tries to fix the problem by moving the jaw forward. I was diagnosed with pretty severe sleep apnea about a dozen years ago. At first I resisted getting a CPAP machine and looked into some alternatives. A doctor recommended that I check with a local dentist that specializes in sleep apnea. His device cost on the order of $2500 (Insurance paid for most of it). It essentially just moved the jaw forward by degrees. After a couple of months of adjusting it he gave me the take-home test which showed that my apnea was actually worse with the device. Well, that was a waste of time & money. Got a CPAP machine soon after.


We'll be offering CPAP in a few months. We're excited to offer a range of options as different devices work well for different patients depending on a number of factors including the severity of their sleep apnea and their lifestyle.


I have sleep apnea and honestly CPAP seems about as primitive as an iron lung. I opted for an oral appliance and hope it works.


I can recommend read the book 'Breath' by James Nestor before buying an expensive device. It shows that most breathing problems are related to the fact that people have changed from nose to mouth breathing, which works against how our bodies are designed.


I have this book but have not read it yet - my problem is that I often physically cannot breathe through my nose either due to mild allergies or damage from sinus infections or maybe a mildly deviated septum.

Daytime though I try to breathe through my nose when possible and also breathe as deeply as possible - it really is a waste that most people only use a small part of their lungs


I had a similar problem with chronic stuffy nose, recurring sinus infections, and a deviated septum. But Buteyko breathing practice was a big part in me getting better. There were other things I did too, but paradoxically, breathing through the nose (and the uncomfortable "suffocating" feeling that happens when you do this while having a stuffy nose) causes the CO2 in the body to rise, and if you keep this up for a little while, it causes your nasal passageways to expand and the mucus to thin and drain, which actually allows you to keep breathing out of the nose. Breathing out of the mouth on the other hand, has the opposite effect, which perpetuates the vicious cycle.

So, you just have to stick with it and study the exercises and tape your mouth shut if necessary at night. Things will get better, it just takes practice.


If I were to tape my mouth closed at night, I'm confident I would die. Other comments are mentioning liability and not running your own CPAP, but this is exactly the kind of advice that should be put before a doctor before doing.


You will wake up if you need to breathe. Otherwise people with sleep apnea would die. They don't. They just don't sleep properly.


People with severe apnea die from it all the time. You'll wake up if you need to breathe...until you die of a heart attack or stroke from all the damage.


Pretty clear he meant death from suffocation.


Suffocation is what causes the heart attacks and strokes. It's what killed Carrie Fisher. Granted, she had chronic underlying health problems and was apparently on a bunch of drugs, but the proximate cause was apnea.


Most people with sleep apnea take a big breath through their mouths a moment after they stop breathing. Taping without CPAP is absolutely risky.


Either I die or it's impossible to sleep. These options don't grab me.


I've seen Butekyo breathing mentioned on other sleep apnea forums. Could you recommend an website that teaching this breathing practice? Also, how long did it take for you to start sleeping better once doing these exercises?

Thanks!


'Close Your Mouth' by Patrick McKeown is the book I used and it really helped me.


Thanks!!


My partner (who has sleep apnea and a device to stop her sleeping on her back) started lightly taping her mouth shut at night with micropore tape after reading that book. She reckons it helps her sleep significantly better..


I recommend using a chin strap instead of tape e.g. https://www.beechfieldsleep.ie/product/cpap-chin-strap/


Does the micropore tape allow you to still breathe through the mouth if you have to?


The tape doesn’t block the air, it’s just a strip of tape to help keep your mouth closed. You can still breathe a tiny bit through the sides of your mouth, and if you open your mouth hard enough the tape comes right off. It is indeed helpful for OSA, best used with the oral sleep appliance.


You're absolutely right. 'Close Your Mouth' by Patrick McKeown was revolutionary for me. Buteyko breathing is the real deal, unfortunately it is largely unknown in the modern American medical community.


This makes me wonder if sleep bruxism and sleep apnea are mutually exclusive.


No, bruxism is highly correlated with apnea. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bruxism/sympt....


I don't seem to be able to simultaneously breathe through my mouth and grind my teeth. They could still happen during different parts of the sleep cycle, though. Perhaps grinding during light sleep and mouth breathing during deep sleep?


What makes you wonder that?


Because with bruxism you typically have your mouth closed (I see no other way to grind your teeth).


> through a protocol-driven provider consult and a home sleep test.

These tests have a high rate of false negatives. Most doctors would then escalate you to a test in a sleep center. How do you attempt to account for false negatives? Without insurance, why is your at-home diagnosis process better than the identical one I can get through my doctor?

> treatment devices including oral appliances and sleep positioners from industry-leading manufacturers, and we look forward to adding other treatment options including CPAP.

You don't have CPAP as a treatment option at all? Ok...

> patients typically aren't presented with all treatment options

Talking about sleep apnea treatment options is confusing. The dental appliances you offer are very effective, but not as effective as CPAP. If you cut a patient's AHI in half, that is statistically significant, but that person is still suffering from sleep apnea. Someone who has "moderate" apnea might have 20 events per hour, and if they cut that by 60%, that's an "effective" treatment, as long as you don't mind still waking up once every 7 minutes.

No other option is as effective as CPAP. Not even close. IMO patients should be pushed to choose the only option that actually "cures" sleep apnea. No other treatment can get you to < 1AHI.

CPAP takes time and work to get used to, and many medical professionals (including my own doctor at the time) don't have the time and patience to help patients get over the hurdles. It took me a year of learning to read OSCAR data and changing machine settings before I could stably sleep with the CPAP on. Pushing people towards significantly less effective treatments is a bad for them.

When I talk to friends and family about my apnea, they often suggest getting a mouthguard or even surgery because the idea of sleeping with a mask is so unpleasant. But breathing all night is really pleasant, so I have begrudgingly grown to love it.

Your site will probably do well, because most people don't like the idea of CPAP, but by pushing alternative solutions you may be encouraging people not to make the best decision for their health.


For many patients, getting the required referrals and finding an available sleep physician can be a barrier to diagnosis. If additional follow-up is required, we connect patients to local sleep physicians in their area for in-lab studies. We'll be adding CPAP in the next few months. We agree that patients should be presented with it as an option and fully supported in learning how to use it effectively. We'd love to discuss your experience in more detail! Our email address is support@heliosleep.com if you're open to connecting.


Very cool and best of luck.

At first I thought your name was "Hello Sleep" which brought back faint memories of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hello_(company) & https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hello/sense-know-more-s...

I am curious on the problem statement though. Is it really difficult to get a diagnosis? I've read a number of sleep books and it was suggestive that you can generally get diagnosed fairly easily with proper equipment and options by general practitioners and specialists worldwide.

I'm a bit concerned personally with the diagnosis industry moving straight to consumer. I think it's cool and all, but is diagnosis through tech potentially bad for changing human behavior? The reason I bring this up is because similar companies exist for ADHD and other human conditions that I'm curious if this really solves people's problems, or just introduces a problem that they then pay for because they aren't making the right change in their life.

In other words, if we make it easier to diagnose, will people more likely believe something is wrong with them and be subscribed to a lifetime of products instead of making the foundational change to improve these problems? Are you in the business of putting yourself out of business like a good doctor in other words?

For example books like "Breath" by James Nestor suggest that we're having trouble sleeping because we're breathing wrong in the first place. What about permanent solutions like surgeries?


Nestor notes that nasal surgery has its own risks of complications. Before surgery, it sounds like fat reduction (through not snacking, and increasing the time between meals, and starting meals with above-ground vegetables and fats and proteins, and reducing sugars significantly [0]) and breathing through the nose as much as possible (even going so far as to tape shut the mouth--worked for me; after less than a year of applying vertically a 1cm-wide strip of medical tape to my lips I habitually breathe through my nose at night) are important steps.

There's another book about breath that you might be interested in, which includes a chapter on breathing for healing [1].

[0] Life in the Fasting Lane (public library) https://www.worldcat.org/title/life-in-the-fasting-lane-how-...

[1] Breath Taking (public library) https://www.worldcat.org/title/breath-taking-the-power-fragi...


Unfortunately, getting a diagnosis can be difficult. The current wait time for in-lab sleep studies is 3-6 months. We want to increase access to care for the 80% of sleep apnea sufferers who are currently undiagnosed.

There are a range of treatment options out there including weight loss, CPAP, oral appliances, and surgery, and selecting the right option can depend on a number of factors including a patient's lifestyle and the severity of their sleep apnea. We're looking to coordinate access for this full spectrum.


Hey, happy you’re doing this, as a sleep apnea sufferer. But in my hometown, they’re doing at home sleep studies, with a recording unit you wear at home and upload the results. Way more convenient than an in person study. Not sure if that’s limited to major cities or what.


Insurance companies all but insist on lab studies. I've tried to get a clear answer from doctors on why, but none of them offered a good explanation. I refuse to do it; there's no way I can fall asleep in that setting, on their schedule, in an uncomfortable bed, with people watching me. If you push back enough you can always get a home test.


Currently, ~60% of studies are being done in lab. We agree that the convenience of at-home sleep tests makes testing significantly more accessible.


It's good that you offer self referrals, I think too many people avoid getting treatment due to the amount of time and energy it takes navigating the system. My journey to getting sleep apnea diagnosed started with discussing sleep quality issues with my primary care provider and a couple very expensive blood tests to rule out other things. Then I finally met with a sleep pulmonologist, who then put me on a multi month long wait list to get the sleep study equipment, and then another month after I finally had the results/justification to get my CPAP.

The CPAP worked OK, but I couldn't stand wearing the thing. I opted for surgery (UPPP, probably the most painful thing I've experienced), which has "cured" me (ironically I'm back on the multi month wait to verify my sleep apnea is gone via another sleep study). Do you recommend surgical or weight loss options to your customers? Could be a conflict of interest if you're set on recurring supply refill revenue...


I think it's ridiculous that a CPAP machine requires a prescription. I wanted to buy one to try it but couldn't. Anyone know why this is? Is it just regulatory capture or is there a medical reason someone shouldn't be able to buy one?


For what it's worth, there are tons of generic APAP devices available on your usual 'big' online market places being sold under labels like 'resoiration device' or 'sleep aid'. Don't know if they're actually trustworthy, but they're out there. There is also a small but thriving secondary market for devices in online web forums (though for sanitation reasons, this seems like a very suboptimal workaround).


You know what is more ridiculous? You need a doctor to write a prescription to use this machine that ices your leg or arm.

https://gameready.com/gr-pro-cold-therapy-unit/

I think it must be some quirk of insurance that they will only pay for something IFF it requires a prescription


Depends on your health insurance plan. Many plans fund a health savings account that allows you to spend your money on any qualifying medical purchase, whether its OTC meds, medical devices, or heck even my yearly supply of band-aids and ibuprofen.

If something requires a prescription, it's usually because the company wants a liability chain to go through a doctor and their malpractice insurance, rather than bankrupt the company.


It can be dangerous if used improperly and since it's related to your health I suppose that requires regulation.

My grandmother died from complications with her CPAP machine (long story and user error) so I don't know that making them available off the shelf is a great idea. At least behind a prescription, more care can be put into the testing of the devices rather than churning them out by the lowest bidder for pickup at your local Walmart.

I've tried to think of other devices/treatments that are available OTC and I'm coming up short. Drugs are heavily regulated and quality tested. I think the big factor is that using the device requires unconsciousness which ups the risk if something goes wrong.

All speculation on my part.


It is somewhat ridiculous - their logic is that it does require configuration/calibration to be setup initially for your pressure levels.

However - I am reasonably confident that given a prescription and some documentation - and a decent instruction manual/video, most people could get through it. (I certainly had no issues with downloading some software/utilities, yanking the SD card and examining my data during the first few months)

But - ultimately it is probably more about risk mitigation and liability for the doctor/sleep technicians and clinics who prescribe these things.


> their logic is that it does require configuration/calibration to be setup initially for your pressure levels.

Which is ridiculous. By "configuration/calibration" they mean setting a value in the software settings. Something that takes 2 seconds and could easily be done by the user (in fact most CPAPs have the ability to have the user set it, but it's disabled by the manufacturer because of stupid regulations).

> ultimately it is probably more about risk mitigation and liability for the doctor/sleep technicians and clinics who prescribe these things.

If people could just go buy them in drugstores by their own choice then doctors and clinics wouldn't be on the hook for having prescribed them. Plus there would be more competition and the devices would be cheaper and more widely available.


I have a Resmed machine and it's super easy to change the pressure.

You just do the super secret thing to enter "Clinician Mode".

The super secret thing?

Hold down the one input button for a few seconds.


AFAIK this only works on certain models.


It is sort of ridiculous, which is why companies make it fairly easy to work around. You go somewhere like 1800cpap and they send you an at-home test kit, you return that to them and they have a doctor look at the output. The doctor writes a prescription, then 1800cpap happily sells you whatever equipment you want. You won't even talk to the doctor. And I can't guarantee this, but I suspect the doc is incentivized to always find something worth writing a prescription for.


If you have OSA and you want to put a mask on your face at night and manage the titration yourself, you’re seriously a candidate for the Darwin awards.

I would love to manage it myself of course, but treating OSA is not 100% as simple as using a CPAP. And if you are indeed stopping your breathing while you are sleeping, do you personally want to be responsible for setting the machine properly?


You need a qualified respiratory therapist/pulmonologist/sleep doc to configure it for you (that's part of the prescription, how much pressure you need), otherwise you could really mess up your lungs (too much pressure) or make your apnea worse (too little pressure). They'll also do ongoing monitoring and adjust the levels remotely.


Not really true for most people with modern APAP machines. Most direct to consumer providers prescribe APAP these days and don't do a titration study to dial in pressures.


Some machines have auto adjusting pressure - my husband has one.

I think this is his unit - https://lofta.com/products/resmed-airsense-10

>With auto titration technology, the AirSense™ 10 AutoSet™ monitors you- breath by breath and adjusts your therapy delivery to maximize outcomes


Pretty much all newer machines do, and most insurance will happily give you one - at least Blue Cross will, as the cost difference over a plain CPAP is very nominal.


I've considered UPPP surgery. Can you describe the pain? How long did it last? Was it worth it?


It was miserable pain, wouldn't do it again. After surgery (months) I managed to stretch the insides and snored again. Also randomly choking while drinking water with no uvula.

Mine was about 20 years ago. Avoid UPPP for snoring.

My snoring was so bad that I would often wake up with my uvula dangling on my tongue, before the surgery.


The pain was pretty bad, but I also avoided opiates and just used tylenol/ibuprofen. It feels like the worst sore throat you've ever had. The worst part was when it was dry--you had to constantly keep drinking water to keep it from getting dried out, which hurt really bad, especially if it was already dry (like when you wake up from sleeping). I'd say it lasted around 2 weeks, I was back at work a week or so after the surgery though.

There is a risk of having a tonsil hemorrhage with adult tonsillectomies (which I got with my UPPP, I think most do?). There is a vein/artery that runs right behind your tonsils and causes them to bleed really bad. Your surgeon will cauterize it, but a week or two after surgery your scabs start coming off, and if they come off too quickly you'll start bleeding. This bleeding won't stop on its own, you need to get to the hospital ASAP. This didn't happen to me thankfully but it was weighing on me pretty heavily from an anxiety standpoint.

I would absolutely do it again. My sleep apnea is gone, I have incredible sleep quality and am no longer a zombie. I was a good candidate for the surgery though--I had a really big uvula and medium sized tonsils, so it didn't take much to block my airway while I slept.


Talk about a racket. I have OSA pretty badly and can't do anything about it. These shrink-fit oral appliances would extend my lifespan by years, but I can't afford the thousands of dollars for a sleep study to get diagnosed to get a stupid prescription. Anybody who says the US has the greatest healthcare in the world obviously hasn't had to actually use it or has money falling out of their ears.


Secondhand CPAPs are readily available in most places. I bought a ResMed Airfit S9 (barely used) for $200. You can learn to find your own ideal pressure settings using open source software for reading your CPAP data (OSCAR). This is almost always necessary when getting a prescription, btw, so you lose little by just doing it yourself.


Ouch. In Canada the sleep study itself and subsequent prescription is covered by our healthcare system - however payment for CPAP/BIPAP machines for treatment will depend on the specific province. When I was first diagnosed in Alberta, there was no coverage - and I didn't have any as I am self-employed and my tiny corp doesn't have enough employees to qualify for a plan. A year later, I moved to Ontario - where our provincial health-care plan covers up-to 75% of the initial cost for a machine.

It was a life-saver - as I have a high-level of sleep apnea (90+ incidents per hour) - a regular CPAP does not cut it, I was prescribed a BIPAP.

It has changed my life - I am incredibly lucky that I got treatment.


Have you looked at Lofta?

https://lofta.com/products/sleep-apnea-test

Disclaimer: I've not used them. No experience with them. I've just seen their name mentioned as an affordable sleep test.

EDIT: Just realized the company of this submission has similarly priced sleep apnea test. I should have probably clicked through before commenting.


Lofta does sell CPAP machines whereas Helio doesn't. I just did my sleep test and follow up through them and the process was quick and painless.


> Anybody who says the US has the greatest healthcare in the world obviously hasn't had to actually use it or has money falling out of their ears.

Or, you know, has insurance as required by law - which covers said sleep study.


FYI, your target user is probably an old fart such as myself that really, really thought your name was hellosleep based on reading this intro.


I had the same impression so often while editing this text that I emailed the founders and suggested they try to get the domain. It would be such a great name for this startup!


Not going to lie, I checked to see if it was available (it was). Hope it still is if they decide to grab it.


We will definitely consider it!


your target user is probably an old fart...

FWIW sleep apnea isn't that much more prevalent in older people. The risk of developing it approximately doubles between 30 and 60, but that could be partially explained by people being more willing to seek help with their sleep as they get older. A lot of younger people with sleep problems just ignore them and remain dangerously tired all the time...


This. I would add that in my case, I was diagnosed with OSA after I was referred from specialized clinic during my treatment of other condition/checkup (either of these, can't recall). I'll be 29 this year and have been using CPAP for 3-4 years.

I observe that my mother has the similar condition like myself when sleeping, and persuaded her to get diagnosed. She has OSA as well, but less severe. Maybe the indicator of abnormal sleep condition as observed by self or someone close by would convince people to seek help.


Arguably a much better name.


I know CPAPs get a bad rep because they're difficult to adjust to, but I use my CPAP nightly and after an adjustment period it has transformed my sleep. I suppose ultimately treating sleep apnea is the important part, so if dental devices help, that's great too.


The biggest success-factor for me in using it was - the type of mask.

A full mouth/nose mask (ala "fighter-pilot-mode") was useless, incredibly constricting and confining - I ended-up always removing it after a couple hours of fitful sleep.

Moving to a "nasal pillow" mask made all the difference - I slept the entire night through the first night - and ever since. While some people need a "chin strap" to keep their mouth closed, I found that I did that automatically.


CPAP works great for many patients and we intend to fully support.


If you can do something about the idiotic Philips recall and the lack of replacement units, that would be great. I've been waiting for my replacement unit for months. I'm using a mouthpiece in the meantime (btw, $199 for a mouthpiece as shown on your site seems way high), which is helping, but I would still like to have the replacement CPAP.


I could never get used to mine, I didn't even know there were alternatives so I might give it a go.


I've seen many articles and comments about apnea and its serious consequences. The thing is, I have no idea if I have it. As far as I know I sleep fine, so I don't bother looking deeper, but I have this nagging FOMO doubt that I could maybe magically drastically improve my sleep. Wish there was some simple test that could rule out even starting down this rabbit hole.


The most simple test is to use a continuously logging pulse oximeter (not an intermittent-sample type like found on some smart watches; also worth nothing continuous-logging sports watches at the high end of the market are usually very unreliable at O2 sat monitoring insuring sleep). Look for drops in O2 saturation dipping into the low 90s/high 80s intermittently. If you see them, you probably have an apnea issue.

That said, the over the counter devices that can do this reliably generally cost half as much (or more) as an at home sleep test.


I had it for years and had no idea, but had occasional nightmares about choking, so my wife suggested I get checked out. Eventually I got checked out and diagnosed, but didn't take it particularly seriously until I picked up a logging pulse oximiter which would show me my blood oxygen level overnight, and even give me a little vibration to wake me up if I stopped breathing long enough for it to drop below 80%. I don't wear it frequently, but when I do, it buzzes and wakes me up all night long if I'm not wearing the CPAP. If I do wear the CPAP, it's fine. [aside: I'm not sure what brand it is, but it and its software looks exactly like the one at getwellue.com, so I'm assuming those are at least the same OEM. The only thing I hate about it is that it uses a usb-micro connector for the charger, and the cable is so short I had to time travel back to 2003 to find a longer one.]

The blood oxygen level dropping so low so frequently is what finally motivated me to take it seriously. Your heart goes into overdrive when that happens, and it's not good for you long term to be going at 90bpm all night. It increases your blood pressure too. I actually feel fine if I don't use the CPAP, but having concrete data showing it's probably taking its toll is very useful.


There are some clinics where sleep problems are treated and where you can go to sleep while being monitored by various medical devices. If there are any sleep problems, they should be identified in this way.

Sleep apnea is a serious condition. I believe that if you would have it you would wake up suffocating, unless you would die in your sleep.

My mother had sleep apnea as a consequence of severe surgery followed by a few weeks in intensive care.

Fortunately, in her case that was a temporary condition. After a few terrible weeks during which I was almost unable to sleep because I feared that I will not wake up in time during her next apnea crisis to help her, the apnea crises disappeared suddenly, from one night to the other, exactly when I was about to buy a CPAP apparatus.


STOP-BANG sleep apnea screening scale

https://www.mdcalc.com/stop-bang-score-obstructive-sleep-apn...


It is impossible to rule out apnea without a sleep study. My kid had apnea, and I'd lay in bed with him for hours, and I never noticed anything beyond sleeping with his mouth open, or slight stirring. Sleep study revealed that he was consistently waking up 6 times an hour.

His apnea got cured with EASE surgery. It dramatically changed his personality. Sleep apnea is often misdiagnosed as ADHD in kids.


Dry mouth and headache upon waking are common, though not a definitive test. Have someone watch you sleep and watch for periods of not breathing followed by strained gasping for air. Still not a substitute for a sleep study. The peer comment suggesting a logging pulse oximeter sounds interesting.


sound like the OP has some thoughts.

But I am using the app SnoreLab which records me at night and scores what percent of the night I'm snoring and how loud (and lets me listen to it back).

The lowest tech way is to just record audio of yourself sleeping. If you snore, you've got it. If you stop breathing / choke / do a "snort snort snort"--you've really got it.

I urge you to set aside a few nights and get this figured out! It could be the most important decision you make for your health in your entire life.


Is snoring really an indicator of sleep apnea? I'm sure that those with apnea likely do snore, but I'm not convinced that everyone who snores has sleep apnea. That would indicate that almost everyone has apnea.


Most people experience some degree of apnea. They don't diagnose you unless you have more than 5 events per hour.

Not everyone who snores has sleep apnea, but it is a HUGE symptom. Basically if you snore and have even ONE of the other symptoms, you should see a doctor. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/snoring/sympt...

However, apnea is very very common and very hereditary. If all the men in your family snore and wake up multiple times per night to pee and are tired all the time, as they are in my family, it's easy to think of those things as just a part of aging.


https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/snoring/sympt...

"Snoring is often associated with Obstructive Sleep Apnea... Not everyone who snores has OSA".

Snoring is really, really bad. A cute little "snooze" could be okay, but anything more than that should be considered a potential life-shortener and potential-limiter.

And yes, I am saying that almost everyone is in danger of apnea. I think this is one of the many ignored epidemics of our time, similar and related to obesity.


That's it, I'm getting a PulsOx sensor and breaking out my Raspi and getting to the bottom of this! :-)


If you find one that lets you extract the data directly, please post. The one I got just has this proprietary app that communicates with it via bluetooth, and I'd much rather have it in a proper time-series format and automate the data-pull.

Also, if you do end up getting a CPAP, those things have a fascinating amount of time-series data stored on their SD cards. If I recall mine logs about 20 independent datapoints, which is a surprising number for something that's just blowing air into your nose. :D But for example, it can detect when you're snoring and it logs a boolean for that all night long.


The off-the-shelf devices look pretty appealing for not having to build the actual on-finger package from scratch. I'd bet the Bluetooth device would be easy to read from something other than an app so I'll give that a try.


I came across this writeup by Thejesh GN that I hope to replicate. https://thejeshgn.com/2020/08/05/reverse-engineering-a-bluet...

(will submit to the queue too, I think this is cool).


Neat. I think this device is fundamentally different from mine in that it appears to stream the events over bluetooth rather than storing them locally and then downloading the "session" over bluetooth. Make sure you don't get one like mine if you want to stream them.


Nice!!


I have sleep apnea and have been using Resmed Air Mini which I got in India. Recently, I moved to the USA and it's ridiculous the months long wait I have to go to get sleep study done.

It's nice that I already have a machine to use otherwise I would have been suffering each day. I already have high blood pressure, it's scary to imagine the situation without the machine.


There still seems to be a shortage of roughly 90k units per month. It's a really tough situation.


Great initiative. Solving OSA is a multi-$bn industry. And there's no silver bullet yet...

I've had 4 sleep studies in the past - professional ones where they wire up your entire body for monitoring. They all produced wildly varying results. So I'm quite skeptical of at-home sleep studies. Maybe you can employ some sort of ML to record snoring and make a determination as to OSA?

Suggestions for your site: you need a little bit more supporting text, especially with the products.

On a separate topic - one of the coolest things I've seen which I think really does "solve" snoring - and persistently is https://www.inspiresleep.com/ - but my feeling is people will avoid invasive surgeries to embed nerve-stimulating devices in their bodies. If we could design such a product without surgery - that would be a game changer.


OSA is solved. I had a home sleep study, sent it back off and had an APAP machine delivered all within 10 days. Mouthpieces and alternatives are halfway houses on the way to a solution, not solutions themselves.


There are millions of people undiagnosed, burdening healthcare systems and leading to preventable deaths or poor health outcomes.

OSA hardware is a chore to use, and many simply give up on using it.

I guess it depends on your definition of solved, but by most standards it is not close.


Congrats on the launch, and great space to be in.

How are you different then something like Lofta?

I tried signing up to use Lofta recently, but dropped off once they wanted me to sign some documents and I felt like it was no longer a simple test, but I was in a relationship with this provider, so I dropped off. Do you know if this due to regulations? (Edit: I recall now, I didn't want to chat to a doctor).

I'd love if this was as easy as sleep tracking with an Apple watch and SleepWatch app (got me to reduce my drinking considerably).


I used Lofta. They were much more interested in selling me their CPAP machines than explaining the results to me. (I was so borderline, CPAP would not be the first treatment anyone would recommend.)


I had the same experience - it almost seemed like they didn't actually care what my results were. It seemed like a big front for a sales pitch. My other problem with lofta and OPs product is its a disposable one night thing. The night I did my lofta I slept like shit - tossing and turning, got so little sleep my lofta wouldn't let me end the session so I had to sit awake with it on. These tests shouldnt be one night things! They should accumulate the data over a week or so.


We're looking to support the full range of treatment options including CPAP alternatives. Our goal is to offer convenient care, and we'll be adding asynchronous options to streamline the process whenever possible.


It’s good to see someone filling this void. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea when I was leaving the military and have struggled to get it addressed in the transition to civilian life, changing insurance, doctors etc and have basically given up. Having a resource to be able to coordinate the process to finding a solution is really important. The CPAP never worked for me but I know there are other configurations that I never got to.


Have you gone to the VA?

I know our local Vetrans hospital has a small sleep study room for diagnosis and will supply CPAP to those in need.


We've heard great things from patients about the VA program for sleep apnea, and we're looking to incorporate best practices from their published studies into our care protocols.


I've gone through many sleep apnea oral appliances. The best one is this one: https://www.smlglobal.com/zyppah-k

It might look a bit flimsy with the dental rubber bands, but that's actually the best feature. Most other oral appliances have a hook or solid point where both halves of the top/bottom mouth pieces are locked in place. What happens is that after 6-12 months of usage, the stress points will eventually break and you are left with a useless device. This has happened to me with 3 previous "solid locked" devices. The zyppah device requires you to change out the dental rubber bands every few weeks, but the flex it gives and longevity is worth it.

If you have moderate-severe apnea, just go to a dentist who also specialize in sleep apnea and get it taken care of. You would be amazed at the difference it makes.


As someone who has suffered from (Genetic, I have complex sleep apnea) Sleep Apnea for years, I've never had an issue finding a provider. I'm curious why you make the claim that "ongoing support can be difficult, and is getting harder, because fewer physicians are practicing sleep medicine."

I've lived in 4 different states since diagnosis, and I've not had issues finding a provider. On every occasion I need to find a new one, I contact my GP, they can usually handle it, if not, they have always referred me.

Not trying to be a pessimist here, I just think your messaging is off. Most Americans with sleep apnea don't get it because, let's face it, most folks don't want to wear a mask (I'm a weirdo who loves my BiPAP + ASV machine and mask...I can no longer fall asleep unless the mask and machine are on)

We need to change how people think about the masks.


After waiting a couple months for the appointment, I went to an in-lab sleep study at a hospital and got the results back after two weeks. Now I have to wait a couple more months to speak with a sleep specialist (they are all that busy in my area with no sooner availability) presumably in the hopes of getting a *PAP Rx or discussing other treatment options. Once I get an Rx for the machine then I'm sure I will have to wait several more months to get one due to the supply shortage. I feel like the medical system has failed me as I suffer for months and months - with basically only one viable treament option (*PAP). While I applaud the effort, it seems like the real disruption would be in addressing the bottlenecks of machine production and Rx gatekeeping.


I'm sorry to hear that it's taking so long to get treatment! Through virtual consults and at-home testing along with CPAP alternatives, we're looking to help improve access.


I have sleep apnea and I went through the regular process of confirming.

1. I would have more faith in your sleep apnea system if you gave more detail. I see three pictures of what seems to be a small sensor.

2. The reason why people don't convert after around six months is because they don't get used to the sleep apnea prevention.

3. CPAPs are the best solution to this problem. Why can't I buy a CPAP or why can't you recommend a CPAP supplier?

4. Why should I trust you? The information on your website doesn't seem fleshed out enough and doesn't give me enough information. If you put the same amount of information in this HN post that would give me much more trust. Also telling me how your CPAP system works (even vaguely so that it can't be reverse engineered) would be great.


Thanks for taking the time to review our site! We'll add more information about the process and more detail about the products. We completely agree that coaching and support are necessary for continued adherence, and we'll be adding CPAP soon. As a licensed reseller, we'll be providing devices from established manufacturers.


Just a site comment:I might be in the market for a home sleep apnea test, but yours has so little information about what it is, how it works, and how it was qualified that I wouldn't consider ordering it.

By combing through your FAQ I was able to figure out that the device is actually by Ectosense, and their site says that testing can be done for 10 nights with the disposable version, which appears to be what you sell. But your site doesn't specify if it's 1 night, 2 nights, or what.

Also you don't specify if the raw data will be available, what type of report is sent, etc. etc.

Is anyone buying anything with such a dearth of information?

BTW if you change it to match what I'm rather crankily suggesting, and suddenly start getting way more orders please send me a free test :)


Not cranky at all :) We appreciate the thoughtful review, and we'll make these changes to clarify (including the manufacturer, the 2-night study, and the reporting). Thanks!


Cool, since you took my advice how about the free test? :)


Glad to see another company tackling this. I started a company (https://www.getairmed.com/) to help address this exact problem back in 2019.

I am a firm believer sleep apnea is under diagnosed and widespread. While I agree with the sentiment that CPAP isn't the panacea here, my CPAP machine changed my life for the better. Whether its a mouth appliance, CPAP, or a didgeridoo (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1360393/), I look forward to a world where more people can live better lives through healthy sleep.

Best of luck!


Thanks, love what you've built at AirMed. Price transparency is so important and often difficult to find.


Why are you collecting email addresses to deliver the results of a self-reported test that would drive shopfront purchases? Just allow users to take the test online, deliver the results, steer them towards the products. You'll get their email if they order, no?


Thanks for the feedback! We've removed the email address requirement.


Thats great! I tried filling in the quiz and submitting and encountered a Captcha that was partially formatted on screen so I couldn't see all the images, nor the submit button. No way to move forward at all.

1 https://imgur.com/a/DcZSFHd 2 https://imgur.com/a/FLc5YzE

I hope you get your site in order, it sounds like a promising market.


You removed the requirement but the field is still there and nothing says the field is optional. I read your reply as "we removed the field".

FWIW I think it's reasonable to collect emails. But at least be honest as to whether the email field required (or not) on the form.


It has been updated to make it clear the field is optional.


I took the quiz but wouldn't put in my email address for the results.

I WFH, I haven't worn a collared shirt in over a decade. Who knows their necksize?


Curious what your relation to https://tapintosleep.com/products/mytap/ is? They link to your site when ordering the myTap.


We're a distributor for Airway Management, the company that makes the myTAP.


What are the best highly portable options for sleep apnea?

I suspect I have a very mild case ( my mother has a more severe one but is also extremely overweight ). I do not really snore and often wakeup feeling quite refreshed. But I know partners have also told me that I occasionally in certain positions sound like I have labored breathing and will wakeup gasping for air.

My problem is that I also enjoy backpacking and mountaineering quite a bit and a CPAP is never going to work with that. I know there are a lot of bullshit mini passive devices out there that do not really actually help - is there anything truly portable and lightweight I can bring with me?


There are a number of small units, the hose+mask will end up taking the majority of the space, which is annoying but not sure of an easy way around that. (Maybe short hoses?) Resmed airMini is pricy but very small, needs an external battery, Philips makes a portable unit that’s a bit larger and has an optional integrated battery. You’d likely need a solar charger for backpacking. Humidification is probably the biggest trick - there are in-line moisture exchangers that help a lot, but if you have dry mouth issues it’s hard to beat a water chamber. Suppose you could boil water on a camp stove for use as well.

Def recommend try to get a study if you can find/afford it. I have a mild case, but getting used to CPAP was still life changing. That said, I find sleeping on my side is enough to avoid most symptoms for a few nights, and if I’m camping I stick to that (there are tricks for preventing back sleeping if it’s an issue).


Oral appliances are a commonly used, lightweight alternative for travel.


Any good examples? When I was looking into this a few years ago most of them did not have favourable reviews by doctors and individuals. Do they still require batteries or are they passive?


These are passive devices. Some examples include Thornton Adjustable Positioner (TAP) devices, SomnoDent, Prosomnus, and others.


I have sleep apnea and snoring. this is what I've learned over the years 1. outside of cpap.. there really aren't any Devices that work. Mouth guards nasal openers.. etc.. do not do anything. 2. cpap is a pain in the butt.. and has a low compliance long term. 3. Snoring and most apnea(can be a brain issue) are jaw / tongue / tonsil issues. 4. If you want too fix apnea / snoring surgery of some sort is required. 5. Though it will make you feel better and sleep better fixing a deviated septum will also make you snore louder.


Recently found out that BPAP/VPAP [0] is a thing. It locks onto your breathing and has one pressure for in-breaths, another for out-breaths. Friend with one says it's great. My apnea is not bad enough to require such intervention.

And, I'm very sorry to say that surgery is NOT a guarantee of a solution. Had another friend with very bad apnea, who got the surgery which removes everything that can be removed, and after that he had... apnea. Bad enough to need a CPAP machine. Sigh.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_airway_pressure#Bi-le...


yah you can be snore free and have apnea. apnea is a scary thing.


I have severe apnea, I use a CPAP nightly.

When I got tested for it I did the full sleep study in a hospital with all kinds of wires and things attached to me. How does a "NightOwl Home Sleep Apnea Test" compare to the test I had? Is the NightOwl good enough? Or is it there to tell you that you might/might-not need to do more intense sleep study?

I'm curious about the oral appliance. I've seen people post about it on /r/SleepApnea. Curious if anyone here has had success with it.


'At home' diagnostic devices for sleep apnea are pretty good at identifying apneic events via various approaches to respiratory and cardiovascular monitoring. What they're not able to do is discern between obstructive and central apneas. In practice, this probably doesn't matter a lot for most, and direct providers that rely on at home testing generally lead with prescribing an APAP (auto-adjusting CPAP) with good results instead first of doing another sleep study like a traditional doctor might require.

Once you use an APAP, you actually are able to discern between apnea types with some degree of confidence if you dump the diagnostic data and use a tool like OSCAR to analyze it.


Why does it matter if you know whether you’re experiencing central or obstructive apneas? Does the treatment differ?


Central apnea is sometimes a symptom of a more serious underlying neurological issue, so it can be important to follow up with a physician to assess other risk symptoms and risk factors.

As for treatment - yes. BiPAP, ASV and nerve stimulation are all more effective for central apnea than CPAP or APAP.


Very much! The treatments are completely different.

Obstructive apneas are caused by an anatomical problem - your upper airway is blocked by relaxed tissues.

Central apneas are caused by a neurological problem - your brain doesn’t communicate the signal to inhale to your diaphragm.


I had a take home sleep study a few months ago, and the study showed that I stopped breathing 89 times an hour. I am now on a long waitlist for a ResMed CPAP machine, because the specialist wrote "prescribe as written." I honestly can't wait to finally get the CPAP, as I am constantly tired, which has caused high blood pressure and exacerbates anxiety that I mostly had under control through medication (which is why I originally sent to get a sleep study).


Call your doctor's office, tell them that all CPAPs are currently facing major supply shortages. Get them to reissue the Rx for "*pap machine capable of range [x-y]mmH20". It should be ready by the end of the day.

Then go buy anything you can. If you're a mouthbreather at night, get a full face mask and a humidifier.


In a few years the apple watch will be able to detect sleep apnea and probably be certified by insurance to qualify you for CPAP etc...

I have a CPAP and hate it, I need to switch to a dental appliance but these are $$$ ... CPAPs are also annoyingly $$$ and I think all of the telemetry and crap is just nonsense. 99% of them auto-adjust their pressures.


I'm one of those people who have had success with MADs in r/SleepApnea. Unfortunately I couldn't use it long term due to preexisting issues with my bite, and had to get surgeries instead.


Your pricing is crazy expensive.

$200 for a mouthpiece that you can get online for $20. What so special that makes that piece of plastic worth more 10X more?

$180 for a pillow you that can be had online for $30.


I had similar markups at my sleep doctor. It was funny because a $20 part from Amazon would be sold for $200 and end up costing $50 for me after my insurance co-pay.

At first they were real pissy about me buying things from third parties but eventually just gave me the part list and stopped mentioning how I never bought stuff from them.


Is it actually cheaper to get everything somewhere else? My test is covered by the doctor but they would charge like $1k for the device if I wanted it which is where I was anchored.

Would you mind sharing where I can get the testing apparatus for cheaper?


Any online marketplace if you search for the keywords mouthpiece snoring. Warning, as you will see in the reviews, that wearing a poorly fitted one for extended periods of time will affect your bite since it does dislocate your jaw. YMMV but that should explain why a proper qualified dentist can make you a fitted one for $1k


A dentist will charge $2k+


There are a range of treatment options out there, and we focus on FDA-cleared devices that are supported by clinical efficacy studies.


They’re scamming insurance companies


I'm currently the owner of a sleep apnea mouth guard (MAD) similar to your pictured one.

Fortunately it was free thanks to UK's NHS, because I cannot use due to discomfort and teeth movement, causing disrupted sleep.

What's your experience been like, and are you doing anything to combat users giving up on treatments due to discomfort? Curious also why you aren't offering CPAP machines.


We'll be offering CPAP soon. No one solution works for all patients, so we want to offer a range of options.


A bit unrelated and I understand you're an early startup, but the website looks pretty broken on my 28" monitor https://imgur.com/KC3IQXg My guess is you've developed it on a macbook where it looked fine. Still an easy fix tho


Thanks for letting us know! We'll get that fixed.


Damn. Neat! I’m going to try this right after this meeting. That is really cheap for an FDA approved test.


I was diagnosed with sleep apnea after a sleep study in late December but I still don't have a CPAP machine due to supply chain issues. In fact the nurse from the clinic said they literally cannot get any machines. How do you expect to handle that?


Given the global shortage, it can be difficult to get machines right now. We're adding CPAP in a few months, and we're also offering CPAP alternatives to help people get care.


If you simply provide a decent web experience for ordering supplies I'll be your customer forever. The places where I can find supplies have prices and UX that only the medical industry could love.


I would like to learn more about how the following up, monitoring, and care adjustment would work for patients previously diagnosed with sleep apnea.


If you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea, you should be periodically checking in with a sleep coach, respiratory therapist or physician as appropriate. And that should be informed by objective data whenever possible. We are establishing workflows to make this as seamless as possible and ensure quality care.


And that's straight up a pipe dream that has nothing to do with reality.


What types of software/tools do you plan to build? See a few potential opportunities in patient care and insurance.


Congrats! Is this for US residents only?


Thanks! Yes, we only operate in the US at this time.


Total anecdotal evidence, but a stiff wedge pillow solved 95% of my snoring and apnea issues


do you score RERAs (respiratory effort related arousals) in your home sleep test?


this is not possible with home sleep tests. They will often claim to do this by using pulse transit time as a correlate for eeg arousal but that does not imply high sensitivity. People should be getting their sleep tests in lab as much as possible, home sleep tests are trash


AFAIK No HSAT is cleared to score RERAs, most of them will score an airflow limitation without a great enough desat to constitute a hypopnes and label it as a “RERA” because they have similar signatures.




Join us for AI Startup School this June 16-17 in San Francisco!

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: