The National Institute of Health (NIH) awards a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to Houston medical practice for monitoring sleep in pregnant women to identify the onset of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). By using an innovative device and platform.
HOUSTON, Sept. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The National Institute of Health (NIH) awards REST Technologies, Inc. (REST), a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to demonstrate the ability to monitor sleep in pregnant women nightly, to identify the onset of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which could improve outcomes in high-risk obstetric patients. This is done by using the REST Tracker platform, developed by REST Technologies, Inc., that incorporates home sleep testing technology, developed by SleepImage which obtains data from a ring when asleep.
It's important to find a simple device and platform for pregnant women to measure all obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) events that can be associated with increased risk of developing gestational diabetes, hypertension, preeclampsia, and eclampsia, contributing to maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. OSA increases the risk of chronic cardiovascular disease, well beyond pregnancy, raising the stakes for detection and management during pregnancy.
The REST Tracker platform functions by capturing the SleepImage ring data, allowing the management of large numbers of patients, needed to enhance the often burdensome workflow of Remote Patient Monitoring. Now, with these breakthrough technologies, clinicians can view multiple parameters over extended periods of time, in a system that would otherwise be too cumbersome to make ongoing, nightly-monitoring practical.
REST Technologies, Inc.'s founding CEO, Jerald Simmons, MD appreciated the need to capture the sleep data and its important clinical value. So, he developed the REST Tracker to enhance the cumbersome RPM process. He recognized the clinical value of redirecting this system to monitor high-risk populations, such as pregnant women who may develop OSA, which demonstrates that the REST Tracker has multiple uses.
Dr. Simmons is teaming up with other experts to achieve this NIH supported research study, George R Saade, MD, Professor and Chair, Associate Dean for Women's HealthObstetrics and Gynecology at Eastern Virginia Medical School, who is internationally recognized for his years of research in high-risk pregnancies said, "The field of high-risk maternal care needs better ways to improve pregnancy outcomes. Studies looking at obstructive sleep apnea have been difficult to perform because there has not been a good method to easily evaluate this population. The technology incorporated into the REST Tracker is a great enhancement and can simplify the process, allowing women to be monitored every night by just wearing a ring when going to sleep. I am thrilled the NIH recognized the importance of this study and am excited to be working with this team of specialists."
Research studies suggest that the prevalence of OSA increases during pregnancy as the maternal body mass index (BMI) rises. Continuous evaluation is necessary as the risk of developing OSA increases throughout the course of the pregnancy, however this is not currently standard practice in prenatal care. Serial screenings for OSA with inlab polysomnograms or home sleep apnea tests are impractical and financially prohibitive. Thus, the need arises for improved tools that provide simple, accurate detection of OSA during pregnancy to prevent potential consequences. Sleep specialists have not provided a specific approach to assist obstetricians addressing OSA concerns, leaving a gap in our maternal health management. The outcome analysis from this project will be important for future pregnant populations as well children-to-adult, high-risk populations.
"Sleep, sleep apnea during pregnancy is particularly challenging. Nimble technologies like the SleepImage Ring with multidimensional outputs, combined with the REST Tracker offer new options for research and clinical care. I am looking forward to assess the power and useability of this integrated system, which has potential far beyond pregnancy," said Robert J Thomas, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, collaborative investigator, REST Technologies NIH research effort.
"Being able to utilize my computer programing skills to help build an application that has the potential to improve healthcare and the lives of people is extremely gratifying. The satisfaction goes way beyond developing industrial tools. Working with REST Technologies allows the opportunity to change lives", expressed Hesam Sadeghian, Lead Computer Scientist, REST Technologies, Inc.
"I am honored and excited to have been able to bring together these experts to work with REST Technologies, enhancing our ability to identify OSA in pregnant women by utilizing these new monitoring technologies. This NIH study will pave the way to improve maternal care, and the health of newborn infants, by early interventions that will improve the sleep of pregnant women who develop OSA," said Jerald Simmons, MD, Founding Director, CEO of REST Technologies, Inc.
Pre-COVID pandemic, Dr. Simmons saw the future needs of the RPM process, so he began developing a sleep disorders RPM online application to use for his clinical practice and quickly realized the benefit it could have for other healthcare providers and industries such as transportation, to ensure the sleep quality of individuals with sleep disorders. He states, "The REST Tracker has enhanced our clinical ability within my four medical centers at Comprehensive Sleep Medicine Associates, PA (CSMA). We have been gaining experience and working-out all the hurdles to create an efficient, data-rich, easy-to-use platform for CSMA's RPM patients for over the past two-and-half-years." Dr. Simmons said, "There is no doubt in my mind that how CSMA is currently practicing sleep medicine, with the REST Tracker, will become the standard in years to come, as my colleagues gain access to longitudinal-sleep data as we now have."
There is a growing trend in the consumer electronic industry, to want easier, wearable devices to monitor our health and well-being. The REST Tracker is a medical grade application utilizing the SleepImage FDA cleared technology, tested on a micro-level by CSMA providers over the past several years, that surpasses anything available to consumers. Now RPM wearable devices can be easily accessed by physicians, medical groups and industries with the REST Tracker by REST Technologies, to manage their users, assisting the outcomes for better sleep.
This study is supported by the National Heart, Lung, And Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R43HL166038. The content of this press release is solely that of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Media Contact
Victoria Wright, REST Technologies INC, 1 7133201874, [email protected], www.csma.clinic
SOURCE REST Technologies INC
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