Advanced Brain Monitoring, Inc. announces the U.S. launch of Night Shift, a new therapy recently cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of positional obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and snoring in patients who are significantly worse when sleeping on their back.
Worn on the back of the neck, the Night Shift begins to vibrate when users begin to sleep on their back, and the vibration slowly increases in intensity until a position change occurs. Unlike conventional position therapies (e.g., tennis balls sewn into night clothing or padding to restrict back sleeping), Night Shift delays the start of therapy to allow the user time to fall asleep in any position. Night Shift is also an intelligent, interactive monitor that tracks the users' response to the therapy and measures its impact on snoring and sleep quality.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a highly prevalent disorder affecting over 18 million Americans. Studies have shown that untreated OSA increases a patient's risk of high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. OSA also contributes to daytime drowsiness, depression, and memory loss. While Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) is the current standard of care for OSA, recent studies show that approximately half of all patients that start CPAP do not continue to use it consistently. Positional sleep restriction is a well recognized alternative to CPAP. "Studies now show that as many as 70% of patients diagnosed with OSA are twice as severe when sleeping on their back and could benefit from position therapy," stated Dr. Philip Westbrook, Chief Medical Officer of Advanced Brain Monitoring and Past-President of the AmericanAcademy of Sleep Medicine.
"The benefits of Night Shift were demonstrated in a study recently published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine," commented Dr. Westbrook., Results showed that 89% of participants responded to Night Shift therapy, including those with severe positional OSA. The majority experienced a significant reduction in obstructive breathing events along with improved sleep quality, reduced loud snoring, and improvements in sleep apnea symptoms
"Night Shift has become the fastest growing treatment alternative to CPAP since its introduction into Australia 18-months ago," stated Daniel J. Levendowski, President of Advanced Brain Monitoring. "This innovative new therapy was recently awarded patents in the United States, Japan, China, and Australia, with additional patents pending. We are pleased it is finally available for patients in the United States."
Patients use the Night Shift Report Portal to assess night-to-night differences in their responsiveness to therapy, monitor changes in snoring or sleep quality which results from interventions (e.g., reduction in alcohol consumption, caffeine consumption, or exercise) prior to sleep, and assess the benefit of position therapy used in combination with CPAP, oral appliance, or other OSA therapies.
The Night Shift Report Portal allows clinicians to monitor the effectiveness of the therapy and whether their patients are using the device. The Night Shift Portal also allows clinicians to enter electronic prescriptions for their patients, making it more convenient for patients to purchase the device on the Company's web-store at NightShiftTherapy.com.