After years of trial and error in building a sleep enterprise in Arizona, a healthcare entrepreneur looks to Nox Medical to enhance the sleep diagnostics of her business.
Working as a respiratory therapist in Arizona more than three decades ago, Lauri Leadley, saw an untapped opportunity in pulse oximetry. It’s a technology that is now built into watches and sold in drug stores nationwide, but pulse oximeters weren’t always easy to come by. In 1990, Leadley had the innovative idea to bring oximetry into patient’s homes when she launched Valley Oximetry, a business that worked with area physicians.
Little did she know at the time that the business would blossom into something much bigger —into what today is a large sleep medicine enterprise in Arizona with a 40-bed sleep clinic.
“I have always been fascinated with the physiology of sleep,” says Leadley, and that fascination has only grown.
Today, she and her husband Glenn, run Valley Sleep Center, a sleep medicine practice that has seen rapid growth over the years and now consists of eight sleep centers. At the core of her business, a team of sleep technologists and physicians oversee the diagnoses, treatment and care of patients in multiple locations spanning from Tucson to Phoenix.
In the lab, her team conducts polysomnography (PSG) sleep studies with the Nox A1s and the artificial intelligence-driven sleep software Noxturnal.
Breaking New Ground with Nox
Leadley first turned to Nox Medical in December of 2023, searching for the latest and greatest technology in sleep diagnostics.
“I was really looking for a way to get all new equipment and I felt like the Nox A1s was the newest, most innovative,” says Leadley. “I also wanted something that my technologists would be excited to use when they come to work. There’s a huge sleep tech shortage and I wanted to be a center where sleep techs want to come to work because of how easy the hook-up is.”
She came to Nox Medical for her PSG equipment after finding that other companies couldn’t quickly deliver parts and had insufficient warranties. She traded in her old PSG devices for an extended warranty with Nox.
Patient comfort also seemed to improve with the Nox A1s PSG. “When I saw how the Nox A1s was wireless for the patient— to me patient experience is so important —it was worth it for me,” says Leadley.
Patient experience and care are two things that Leadley has many years of experience with. As a fledgling respiratory therapist, she worked the night shift as the only RT in a 150-bed hospital, where her fascination with the physiology of sleep first began.
“All these things would happen at night with the patients’ breathing. My ventilator settings would get messed up. We would have babies born that were having apnea. You know, just all these things from neonates to geriatrics,” she says. From there, her interest in sleep expanded.
The Beginnings of a Sleep Lab
The idea to start a sleep diagnostics business was sparked during her time running Valley Oximetry, when she noticed a sawtooth wave pattern during one of her patient’s overnight oximetry tests —a clear marker of sleep apnea.
“I always had this idea that we could do sleep studies, too,” she says.
With a new excitement for incorporating sleep into her business, Leadley went back to work at a hospital to learn sleep medicine on the job. She worked overnights for about six months until she could take her registry exam to become a registered polysomnographic technologist.
Not long after, she decided to start her own sleep clinic. Over time, she and her husband realized they wanted to offer complete sleep health management services including sleep studies, diagnosis, and treatment of sleep disorders.
Now, in addition to in-lab testing, home sleep testing, and operating a group practice, she and her husband run a durable medical equipment company, Valley Sleep Therapy to offer CPAP and PAP supplies to patients.
“I decided, well: I might as well take care of the whole patient,” she says.
Your Sleep Lab, Reimagined
Valley Sleep Center is one of many Nox Medical customers across the United States that depend on the Nox A1s for their in-laboratory PSG sleep testing. Recognized for its tether-free design and easy hookup experience, the Nox A1s streamlines in-lab workflows while boosting patient comfort. Modern sleep centers looking to update their polysomnography systems with future-ready technology select Nox A1s as a reliable option.
For more information on the Nox A1s PSG system for full in-laboratory testing and to find out Nox Medical’s limited-time PSG trade-in offer, please contact us.
Topic: Industry News
