This week the American Association of Sleep Technologists (AAST) hosts the 2020 Sleep Technologists Appreciation Week (STAW) as a celebration of the numerous accomplishments made by sleep technologists in the sleep disorders centers, laboratories, educational facilities, and within AAST. 

Nox Medical’s satellite symposium at the 2020 SLEEP conference featured a compelling session by Prof. Dr. Christoph Schöbel, MD discussing how technologies like apps, e- and m-Health can be used to diagnose sleep disordered breathing and support the long-term management of other chronic diseases.

Sleep technologists have found that patients who come in for a sleep test often have multiple comorbidities, reports Sleep Review Magazine. A recent article describes how planning for each patient in advance can make a big difference and includes a six steps guide to easier sleep studies.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the need for telehealth and telemedicine has become clear. Atlanta based, FusionSleep is one of many sleep clinics that have turned to home sleep testing and telehealth to keep their doors open to patients during the times of COVID-19.

In the current situation, many sleep clinics are facing closings of their sleep operations while hospitals are moving away from in-lab sleep testing. Already an accepted technique for diagnosing Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB), home sleep testing (HST) is emerging as a diagnostic tool throughout the US, now more than ever.

When a patient reports waking up from sleep gasping for air, clinicians will often investigate with a sleep study and calculate the severity of sleep apnea using the apnea hypopnea index (AHI), which references the number of apnea and hypopnea events per hour of sleep. To be counted, the apneas must last for at least 10 seconds and be associated with a decrease in blood oxygenation.