ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic has created a comprehensive mobile health application; combining a custom mobile experience with unparalleled expertise and access. Mayo Clinic patients can now read their doctor’s notes, see lab results, refill prescriptions, get directions to their next appointment, and get ideas for where to eat lunch.

Mayo Clinic launched Patient, a free Apple iPhone/iPad application, this week. Its features are much more extensive than any previous smartphone offerings. As smartphone use continues to grow, Mayo Clinic decided to create an application to help Mayo Clinic patients and the people who accompany them.

For a Mayo Clinic patient, the functionality is personalized, providing secure access to their medical record, an up-to-date appointment schedule, lab results and navigation to amenities on Mayo Clinic campuses as well as in the community.

“Mayo Clinic has always put the needs of patients first, and we built this mobile health application based on what our patients said they would find useful to enhance the way they connect with us,” says Sidna Tulledge-Scheitel, M.D., vice dean of eHealth, Mayo Clinic. “Mayo Clinic is now literally an in-your-pocket resource for people across the world, extending beyond our walls and following them wherever they go.”

Source: Mayo Clinic

The Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT) is now accepting applications for the third annual Andrea Patterson Memorial Scholarship Program. The Scholarship Program, named in honor of an early and highly regarded leader in the field of sleep technology, awards a $2,500 tuition grant each year to a promising student of polysomnography.

Said BRPT President Cindy Altman, RPSGT R. EEG/EP T., “Now in its third year, the Scholarship program has gained momentum and draws a pool of very strong applicants. I’m proud to honor Andrea’s legacy while rewarding a stellar student each year.”

Andrea Patterson, RPSGT, R. EEG T., managed the Hennepin County Sleep Program in Minneapolis, Minnesota for almost 30 years and was a leader in early efforts to develop a standardized competency-based test for sleep technologists. Those efforts were instrumental in the development of the RPSGT credentialing program. She published extensively in scientific journals and served on the BRPT Exam Development Committee for over 20 years, until her death in 2007.

Scholarship applicants must be enrolled in or accepted by a CAAHEP-accredited program in PSG, a CoARC-accredited program with a PSG add-on or an accredited END program with a PSG add-on. The scholarship application, a full description of eligibility requirements and other program details are available at www.brpt.org. Applications must be completed and returned to the BRPT no later than close of business November 1. The Andrea Patterson Memorial Scholarship Committee is chaired by BRPT Board member, Theresa Krupski, RPSGT, RRT. The Committee will select the scholarship recipient and the winner will be announced in January 2013.

BRPT is an independent, non-profit certification board that cultivates the highest professional and ethical standards for polysomnographic technologists.

Source: www.brpt.org

Fort Collins, Colorado – Disabled residents who use electrical power for life support equipment have long had access to financial help for utilities, but those breaks have extended to CPAP users in one Colorado community. Sixty miles north of Denver, the Fort Collins City Council passed the measure to ease costs for those who don’t have the option to conserve energy.

Fort Collins residents who rely on electric-powered medical equipment can apply for the discount, which city officials say would give qualified customers discounts up to $11.71 per month during nonsummer months, depending on their electrical use. During June, July, and August, if customers use air conditioning to relieve or treat a medical condition, the discount could be up to $41.66 per month.

“A program like this is not that common,” says Lance Smith, strategic financial planning manager, Fort Collins Utilities. “In California, they have legislated that municipal utilities should have a program like this. The nearby city of Longmont, Colo, has a program, but it is geared more toward life support items, rather than the quality of life equipment that we are trying to deal with here in Fort Collins.”

Additional $1m contract in China underpins key growth focus on emerging markets for Compumedics

* Compumedics’ Germany-based business, DWL, continues to expand its Chinese market presence booking another $1m  (EUR750k) order

* Compumedics Group sales to China increases momentum with FY2012 sales growth expected to be at least 40% over FY2011, an increase over the 38% growth in sales to China achieved in FY2011

* Compumedics has over a 20-year period become the premier supplier of China sleep, neurology and ultrasonic Doppler  blood-flow monitoring systems, with an unsurpassed array of key-opinion-leader Compumedics’ reference-centers now  established across China and Hong Kong

Compumedics Limited (ASX: CMP) is pleased to announce the Company’s Germany-based brain blood-flow ultrasonography division, Compumedics Germany GmbH (DWL), has secured new orders of approximately €0.75 million (≈AUD1.0 million) from Beijing Beike Digital Medical Technology (Beike) for the purchase of DWL® products.

This adds to the €0.6 million (≈AUD0.9 million) order received in early FY2012, bringing total business, for DWL, for the financial year-to-date to $1.7m (€1.3m) or a 37% increase, compared to the entire prior financial year.   This milestone for Compumedics Germany continues to underpin the Compumedics Group’s growing presence in China and is further evidence the Company’s growth strategy of focusing on this growing market is well on track.
As a result of the Group’s successful and highly developed partnerships in China, Compumedics has achieved the following outcomes over the past 5 years, with significant momentum building over the last two years:

•     Since FY2007 Group sales to China have almost tripled from USD1.8m to USD4.4m in FY2011
•     Sales growth into China has gained momentum in the last two years with DWL sales growing 10% in FY2010 and a further  37% in Y2011 with FY2012 growth likely to be in excess of 37%, at this point in time
•     Since FY2007 sales of Compumedics® sleep diagnostic systems have grown 400% from USD0.25m to USD1.0m in FY2011, providing an enormous opportunity for future growth given China’s potential market size and its early phase of  development
•     Across the Asia region, including India, Compumedics has grown its sales from the region by about 11% per annum from  USD4.5m in FY2007 to USD7.6m in FY2011
•     Compumedics new neuro-diagnostic range of products, including the Neuvo® long-term EEG monitoring (LTEM) system,  remains an untapped commercial opportunity in the region with initial sales forecast for FY2012.

Compumedics remains focused on growing the Group through:

• Expansion of the Company’s existing products into emerging markets particularly China; and
• Continuing the initial penetration of the neuro-diagnostic market, particularly the US, with Compumedics new range of  neuro-diagnostic products, including the Neuvo® LTEM system

In commenting on the further boost to Compumedics’ China business, Dr. David Burton, Chairman and CEO, said:

“These significant sales orders achieved through the course of the financial year further validate Compumedics’ superior product offering, highlighting another important milestone for our Company. They reinforce our commitment to developing Compumedics’ potential for exponential growth in the Asian markets, particularly in China.”

“A recent study by the Shanghai Institution of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Sleep Disorders, published in the China Daily, estimates that up to 38% of the population of Shanghai suffers from some form of sleep disorder.  In a city of 19 million people, this represents approximately 7 million potential sleep disorder patients who would greatly benefit from Compumedics’ products.”

“Market research (Global Data 2010) confirms that Sleep Apnea Diagnostic Systems have been reported as the fastest growing category within the Chinese anaesthesia and respiratory devices market, with growth rates of 15.7 % between 2002 and 2009 and a forecast of 14.1% between 2009 and 2016.  Importantly, in partnership with an extraordinary long-term network of existing distributors, Compumedics has established itself over the past 2 decades as the leading supplier of premier sleep and also neurology systems amongst the finest Chinese hospitals, universities and clinics, alike.  Coupled with Compumedics’ Australian headquarters ideal geographical positioning and global brand recognition built up over 25 years, we believe it is imperative that we investigate the potential to further strengthen our Chinese investment and trade prospects.  The prospect of Compumedics further combining Chinese investment, manufacturing and engineering resources with Compumedics global market sleep and neurology technological and innovative leadership can provide a formidable expanded business opportunity and will be vigorously pursued.” Dr. Burton added.

Source: Compumedics

FRISCO, Texas, SomnoMed  (SOM.AX) – expects shipment of its 100,000th SomnoDent® apnea appliance case since the inception of the company in June 2012. This important company milestone is anticipated to occur whilst SomnoMed attends the annual Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS) conference in Boston.

“This is a significant milestone for us as it demonstrates continued strong demand for SomnoDent® sleep apnea treatment,” said Ralf Barschow, President & CEO of SomnoMed. “With more than 100,000 patients and counting we are continuing to grow and expand the products and services associated with SomnoDent sleep apnea treatment.”

We look forward to announcing further details associated with this 100,000 treatment in June.

About SomnoMed

SomnoMed is a public company (SOM.AX) providing diagnostic and treatment solutions for Sleep Breathing Disorders such as Obstructive Sleep Apnea. SomnoMed was commercialized on the basis of extensive clinical research. Supporting independent clinical research, continuous innovation and instituting medical manufacturing standards has resulted in SomnoDent® becoming the state-of-the-art and clinically proven medical oral appliance therapy for obstructive sleep apnea. For additional information, visit SomnoMed at www.somnomed.com

SOURCE SomnoMed

Hybernite Universal CPAP Heated Tubing for Obstructive Sleep Apnea. More information is available at http://www.hybernite.com

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Could REM sleep be a biological biomarker for anxiety disorders

Although interest in finding biological biomarkers for psychiatric illnesses has been longstanding, efforts to find biological biomarkers have not been very successful. It has been known for quite some time that most antidepressants suppress REM (rapid eye movement) sleep in depressed patients, normal controls and laboratory animals 1. Thus it is postulated that increased REM density could be a possible biological biomarker for depression 2. Several anti-depressant medications are FDA approved for anxiety disorders as well, such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Panic Disorder, implying there may some commonality in the pathophysiology of depressive and anxiety disorders.

There is a relative paucity of articles looking at electroencephalographic sleep patterns in anxiety disorders. This review is an effort to summarize the REM sleep abnormalities in Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive compulsive disorder and panic disorder. Further research is needed to clarify the relationship of REM sleep in anxiety disorders. Reference: 1. Steiger A, Kimura M: Wake and sleep EEG provide biomarkers in depression : J Psychiatr Res. 2010 Mar;44(4):242-52. 2. Pillai V, Kalmbach DA, Ciesla JA: A meta-analysis of electroencephalographic sleep in depression: evidence for genetic biomarkers. : Biol Psychiatry. 2011 Nov 15; 70(10):912-9.

Source: American Psychiatric Association 2012 Annual Meeting

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Vanda) (NASDAQ: VNDA),. said Tuesday it took a loss in the first quarter as it spent more money developing its sleep disorder drug tasimelteon.

Vanda said over the first three months of the year it lost $8 million, or 28 cents per share. A year ago it reported a profit of $136,000, which was break-even on a per-share basis. Its revenue rose to $8.1 million from $7.5 million.

The company said its research and development costs nearly tripled to $12.2 million from $4.3 million as it studied tasimelteon as a treatment for sleep disorders in people who are blind. Vanda said it expects to finish two late-stage trials of tasimelteon by the end of 2012 and file for marketing approval of the drug in mid-2013.

Key Highlights:

• The tasimelteon Non-24-Hour Disorder (Non-24) program continues to advance towards the goal of a projected mid-2013 New Drug Application (NDA) filing with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration(FDA).  Vanda expects to complete the two Phase III efficacy studies, SET and RESET, by the end of 2012. 

• Initial clinical data in the RESET study revealed potential of tasimelteon to reset the body clock in Non-24.  

• The tasimelteon MAGELLAN Phase IIb/III efficacy study for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is ongoing and Vanda expects to report top-line results in the first half of 2013.

Source: Vanda Pharma

Provent Therapy is an FDA cleared, prescription-only device that utilizes nasal EPAP (expiratory positive airway pressure) to treat all levels of severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and related snoring.http://www.proventtherapy.com

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FRISCO, Texas, SomnoMed Limited (ASX: SOM) announced today its results for the third quarter to March 2012. Unit sales reached a new record with 7,903 units, 25% higher than in the same quarter in the previous year, when sales reached 6,346 units. Third quarter sales were ahead of Q2 sales with increased sales in all regions (US, APAC andEurope) in Q3. Global unit sales for the nine months are just over 22,000 units.

Revenue numbers for the March quarter of $3.8 million were 26% more than the same period last year. Total revenue growth for the full 9 months is 18% (26% with constant exchange rates).

SomnoMed’s CEO Mr Ralf Barschow commented, “New record sales were achieved in all regions in Q3 and trends are encouraging for the remainder of the financial year.”

All regions generated operating profits well ahead of the corresponding period in the prior year. The ongoing investment in manufacturing, operations and logistics during the year has again allowed SomnoMed to increase the gross margin of the business to 69% from 67% in the March quarter of 2011.”

“The recent announcement that SomnoMed’s MATRx system has now received FDA clearance allows us to put the proof of individual treatment effectiveness in the forefront of our medical drive and strategic positioning in the industry in anticipation of the Sleep Congress 2012 to be held in June in Boston, USA,” commented Mr Barschow.

The cash use for the quarter was $170,000, including cash payments of $371,000 made in connection to the completion of the acquisition of SomnoMed’s share in the Dutch company and associated transaction costs. SomnoMed had a cash balance of$3.1 million at the end of Q3.

Visit: SomnoMed Website

Source: PRnewswire

Related: OSA Sufferers Finding Comfort in the Dental Office

Nate Newton and Derek Kennard celebrate a successful meeting with David Gergen and Brittany DeFrank

Sleep Apnea is a condition with many faces and can be difficult to discuss. Nate Newton and Derek Kennard provided a personal description of their experience with Sleep Apnea after the game. The audience seemed to appreciate that candor and honesty of the discussion. David Gergen’s of Gergens Orthodontic lab was very pleased with the event and enthused “there are 32 NFL cities and we need to make sure we hold one of these events in every city”.

We at SleepScholar certainly support any public information program that will help patients with Sleep Apnea seek diagnosis and therapy.

Related posts:

1. NFL Greats Highlight Sleep Treatment Options
2. Gergen’s Orthodontics Lab Releases “Respire” by Gergens

April 26, 2012 at the Renaissance Hotel in Dallas Texas, a free event was held to raise awareness of the dangers of sleep apnea and snoring. Former NFL Lineman Derek Kennard is among the contributors sharing personal experiences and struggles with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) to the audience of potential sufferers. Showing support and contributing in the event are Dental Sleep Medicine experts from Sleep Group Solutions, Gergens Orthodontic Lab and LoneStar Dental Sleep Medicine.

Why NFL members and athletes to raise awareness of sleep apnea? Over 60% of NFL linemen suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnea. A Scripps Howard News Service study stated heavy athletes are more than twice as likely to die before their 50th birthday than their slimmer teammates. Reggie White’s passing, Percy Harvins’ treatment, and the death of Derek Kennards’ brother Donald in 2009 has inspired many athletes to step up and speak about the severity of sleep apnea. “A Good nights sleep can change your life! I wake up refreshed, well rested, my eyes aren’t red anymore. I don’t look or feel tired anymore. If I’d met Mr. Gergen sooner, we could have saved my Brother Donald Kennards” life.” says Derek Kennard former NFL superstar. His brother, Don Kennard died in his sleep in 2009 from sleep apnea. “…this could have been prevented. RIP Don, I Love You Man!”

Read full story at Gergens Ortho Blog

With a hard-fought blessing from the AASM finally in hand, officials at Minnesota-based Dymedix Corp are aggressively marketing their Piezo Film Effort Belt.

It’s hard enough to introduce new technology to the medical world, but add a bit of unfortunate timing and it can seem downright impossible. Jim Moore, vice president and general manager of Dymedix Diagnostics Inc, faced both barriers in an attempt to gain wide acceptance for his company’s Piezo Film Effort Belt.

Based on the science of Piezo and Pyro electric principles (not to be confused with Piezo ceramic), the Dymedix belt uses polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), a technology now used in many sophisticated applications such as rate responsive pacemakers, ultrasound, seismic accelerometers, and advanced naval sonar. In 1998, Dymedix’s founder Peter Stasz, invented sleep sensors using PVDF to accurately measure airflow, snore, and movement.

The invention worked well, but the scientific proof to back it up was just short of what the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) wanted back in 2008. At that time, the AASM made its influential sensor recommendations to de-emphasize the Piezo crystal respiratory effort belt in favor of esophageal manometry and the respiratory inductance plethysmography (RIP) effort belt system. “The reviewing committee did not have the opportunity to review our technology before they made their recommendations,” laments Moore, who is based in Minnesota. “As a result, we were essentially squeezed out by our competition when we tried to continue to sell our Piezo Film Effort Belt.”

The AASM recommendation carried considerable weight, and it was a frustrating setback by all accounts. Sleep labs hesitated to adopt the technology, fearing that they might lose accreditation if they went with Dymedix. The fear was unfounded, but such perceptions can take years to overcome.

Moore and his colleagues were undaunted. They called Susan Redline, MD, MPH, at Case Western Reserve University (now a professor at Harvard Medical School). Redline did a study with 50 patients to compare RIP, PVDF, and pneumotech in a head-to-head study. After seeing Redline’s favorable results published in a peer-reviewed clinical journal, AASM officials took a new look at Dymedix technology late last year.

“On Dec 19, 2011, the AASM board accepted our technology,” says Moore. “And that has opened the gates for us. Now that we are on a level playing field with RIP technology, we are enjoying success with our PVDF Film Effort Belts.”

Dumbfounded by the Precision
While the coveted AASM recommendation came in December 2011, the Dymedix product has been on the market for many years. Albeit hampered by the lack of an AASM blessing, the product has still managed to gain a steady following. “The technology kept our customers happy,” says Janine Erkenbrack, director of Sales, Dymedix. “The technology is what sells Dymedix, and it is what kept the company going pre approval and post. It speaks for itself. When sleep center techs take our belts, plug them in, and run a clinical study, they are dumbfounded by the precision, accuracy, and reliability of the signal.”

Erkenbrack had supreme confidence in the technology, which made it all the more frustrating that so many potential customers shied away at first. These days she freely takes on existing technologies. “If facilities are tired of positional issues, signal loss, or plain not holding up, they will remove those issues due to the properties of the PVDF film and the construction and design of the product,” she says. “Often with RIP technology, there are batteries that must be changed frequently. Techs don’t have to change batteries in our belt. They are warranted for one year, and we have customers using our belts for well over 2 years.”

Sleep Industry “Still Asleep”
Reinhold Henke, director of Engineering at Dymedix, says PVDF is ideal for instantaneously measuring the slightest change in temperature, pressure, or motion. As a treated form of plastic, the film is polarized with an electric charge, and sensitive to temperature changes and vibration.

Integrated with the belt, the technology measures the effort expended to breath.—the same technology used in our airflow sensor which measure nasal and oral airflow beautifully. “Dymedix’ use of PVDF produces what many have claimed to be a better signal than any thermistor, thermocouple, standard air pressure transducer, or RIP effort belt can,” says Henke. “Unfortunately, many people have confused the Piezo electric properties of PVDF and Piezo crystals. They are completely different. However, because of many peoples’ dissatisfaction with Piezo crystal belts and pressure sensors, they have mistakenly believed Piezo is Piezo, which is simply incorrect. That’s like comparing a pizza pie and an apple pie.”

“The film is perfect for this industry because it stretches and breathes along with the skin,” continues Henke. “When we take a strong signal, reduce it, and attenuate it, you get an impeccable signal with little noise, and that is what our customers see.”

INFO BOX: Around the Country
Dymedix will bring its 20’ by 20’ booth to shows around the country, including:

• The 26^th Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, Boston
• The Focus Spring Show at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, Nashville
• Dymedix will also attend about eight smaller regional shows

Helen Driver, PhD, RPSGT, believed home sleep testing was probably a viable mechanism to discover sleep apnea, but she needed to find out for herself.

Relinquishing control of crucial diagnostics has never been a favored practice of clinicians. Instead, dedicated sleep technologists prefer to monitor physiological variables while administering a gold standard polysomnography.

Helen Driver, PhD, RPSGT, DABSM, shares the same instinct, but the veteran of more than two decades in the sleep world knows that labs are not right for everyone. Demand is increasing, and some patients simply have no interest in spending the night in a laboratory—whether it’s comfortable or not.

As coordinator of the Sleep Disorders Laboratory at Kingston General Hospital and Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada, Driver sees patients young and old in an environment where little is left to chance. “There is no doubt that some people do better with the additional care they get in the lab,” says Driver, who works under the Queen’s University Department of Medicine umbrella. “In the lab, patients get the one-on-one attention that ensures everything is being properly recorded. Physicians know what their patients need and want, and being in a lab patients get that additional education.”

With so many patients out there, Driver and her colleagues believed that home sleep testing could be a valuable screening modality. After doing their own studies, that belief now has data to back it up. Researchers followed up an in-laboratory validation study of a level III portable monitoring device called the MediByte®, from Canada-based Braebon Medical Corp (Driver et al 2011), with at-home studies (Pereira et al 2011).

Specifically, 150 patients recruited from the Kingston General Hospital completed validated questionnaires after wearing the MediByte level III portable monitor. The study compared findings from the home study with in-laboratory polysomnography for screening of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Downloaded Medibyte data included oximetry, nasal pressure airflow, and respiratory inductance plethysmography manually scored by an experienced scorer who was blind to in-lab PSG results. At a diagnostic threshold AHI of 10 (based on in-lab polysomnography), compared with any of the questionnaires, the portable monitor had a slightly lower sensitivity (79%) indicating a true-positive result for OSA. There was greater specificity (88%) referring to the proportion of patients without OSA who had a negative test result (true-negative) on the portable monitor. High specificity is important because of the potential costs associated with following-up false-positive cases.

The sensitivity and specificity for each of the questionnaires for an AHI of 10 was as follows: Sleep Apnea Clinical Score 89%, 52%; Stop-Bang 89%, 24%; Berlin 89%, 28%.

For a diagnostic threshold AHI of 15, the sensitivity and specificity were as follows: MediByte 79%, 94%; Sleep Apnea Clinical Score 91%, 50%; Stop-Bang 91%, 28%; Berlin 91%, 28%.

The understanding is that the device is used in the home setting for a certain clinical population. As such, Driver and her fellow researchers were open to seeing how it went. “My own instinct, being lab based, is that you can’t get any measure that is as good as somebody actually watching,” says Driver. “More data is optimal. But this is a surrogate, and we were hopeful it would be accurate, and it turned out to be that way given the caveats of no additional measures that improve the reliability.”

Fundamental Changes
Driver is hopeful that home sleep testing will continue to be used in a setting where there is access to good clinical consultation, and an in-lab assessment if needed. “Home sleep testing can be a useful adjunct for follow-up as part of comprehensive care,” she says. “We must change the way we have been practicing, and our lab is included in that. We must change the way we practice sleep medicine to improve efficiencies in diagnosis of sleep disorders, and specifically OSA.”

Part of that new way of thinking includes a level of trust that goes beyond the lab walls. For example, if a patient’s livelihood is at stake (such as trucking), will he actually wear the device? Or could the device be used on a family member with no sleep problems?

The public safety concerns are real, and Driver concedes that the issues must be confronted. One thing is certain; education will remain crucial for compliance. “If people take home testing devices, someone should still show patients how to use and set them up, and review the raw data,” she says. “Ultimately, home sleep testing can shorten wait times and increasing availability of testing, which can lead to a huge improvement for sleep laboratories.”

Acceptance a Done Deal?
Acceptance of home sleep testing depends on whom you ask. “Confidence levels are still very mixed when it comes to home sleep testing,” admits Driver. “It depends on the background from which you come. If you are very familiar with the way we do studies in the lab, you have a good understanding of the gold standard. Those who come from a dental background are familiar and open to using home sleep screening devices. These devices should be used in conjunction with good clinical practice and follow-up. This is a good technology that is practical and useful for patients, and that is our overriding concern.”

Not surprisingly, if the test is not properly interpreted, and the therapy is not appropriately implemented, there are problems. In the context of Driver’s study, gender was also a consideration. “Women are more likely to have upper airway resistance, so it’s a more subtle flow limitation,” says Driver. “It might cause an arousal or an awakening, rather than a desaturation greater than 3%. So that is one limitation of a home testing study—it relies on oxygen desaturation. In the lab with some of the more subtle types, we see it manifested in the EEG.”

1. Driver, H.S. Bjerring, K.A., Toop F., Pereira E., Stewart, S.C., Munt, P. & Fitzpatrick, M.F. (2011) Validation of the MediByte® Type 3 Portable Monitor compared with Polysomnography for Screening of Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Canadian Respiratory Journal, 18 (3): 137-143
2. Pereira E, Driver H, Stewart S, Fitzpatrick M. Validated questionnaires and an ambulatory monitor in the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep Medicine 2011;12, Suppl. 1: S12

San Diego - ResMed Inc. (NYSE: RMD)  announced record revenue and income for the quarter ended March 31, 2012.  Revenue for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 was $349.1 million, an 11% increase (a 13% increase on a constant currency basis) over the quarter ended March 31, 2011.  For the quarter ended March 31, 2012, income from operations was $76.5 million and net income was $64.6 million, an increase of 20% and 21%, respectively, compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2011.  Diluted earnings per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 were$0.44, an increase of 29% compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2011.

Source: ResMed News Website

Insufficient sleep can have serious and sometimes fatal consequences for fatigued workers and others around them . For example, an estimated 20% of vehicle crashes are linked to drowsy driving.

The National Sleep Foundation recommends that healthy adults sleep 7–9 hours per day. To assess the prevalence of short sleep duration among workers, CDC analyzed data from the 2010 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The analysis compared sleep duration by age group, race/ethnicity, sex, marital status, education, and employment characteristics. Overall, 30.0% of civilian employed U.S. adults (approximately 40.6 million workers) reported an average sleep duration of ≤6 hours per day.

The prevalence of short sleep duration (≤6 hours per day) varied by industry of employment (range: 24.1%–41.6%), with a significantly higher rate of short sleep duration among workers in manufacturing (34.1%) compared with all workers combined. Among all workers, those who usually worked the night shift had a much higher prevalence of short sleep duration (44.0%, representing approximately 2.2 million night shift workers) than those who worked the day shift (28.8%, representing approximately 28.3 million day shift workers).

An especially high prevalence of short sleep duration was reported by night shift workers in the transportation and warehousing (69.7%) and health-care and social assistance (52.3%) industries. Targeted interventions, such as evidence-based shift system designs that improve sleep opportunities and evidence-based training programs on sleep and working hours tailored for managers and employees (4), should be implemented to protect the health and safety of workers, their coworkers, and the public.

Source: CDC MMWR Weekly Report

Traffic accidents caused by drowsiness are a severe problem. Various scientific studies estimate that between 24 – 33% of accidents of serious accidents can be attributed to drowsiness.

Though common sense tells you not to drive when you’re tired, plenty of groggy drivers venture out onto America’s thoroughfares anyway. Mercedes-Benz’s Attention Assist system combats drowsiness and distraction by warning the driver when it detects abnormal steering.

Using a steering sensor and special software, Attention Assist measures 70-plus parameters of driving behavior during the first few minutes of operation, from which it establishes a unique driver profile. It then refers to this profile at speeds between 50 and 112 mph to identify a drowsy driver’s erratic steering correction. When the driver starts to exhibit certain behaviors associated with drowsiness, an audible warning sounds, and a visual warning illuminates.

When it comes to attending continuing medical education events, 84% of doctors say they would rather participate online than in-person, according to the Joint Survey of Physician Digital Behavior released by ON24 and MedData Group, Information Week reports 4/20

ON24 provides services for webcasts and virtual events, and MedData Group provides interactive content and marketing services to the health care industry.

The survey asked 971 physicians about their online habits and use of technology.

Views on Attending Virtual Educational Events

Of the physicians surveyed:

• 91% said they see benefits in attending virtual educational events;
• 75.5% said they believe that such virtual events are increasing in number; and
• 35% said they believe that virtual events contribute to better patient care.

When asked about the benefits of virtually attending a conference or meeting, 80% of surveyed doctors cited the convenience of viewing on-demand content, and 53% cited avoiding the hassles of travel.

Use of Digital Devices

When asked about the type of digital devices they own or plan to purchase in the next six months:

• 74.2% of surveyed doctors said they own an iPad or plan to buy one in the next six months;
• 69.4% said they own an iPhone or plan to buy one in the next six months;
• 30.9% said they own a non-iPhone smartphone or will buy one in the next six months; and
• 14.1% said they own a non-iPad tablet or will get a tablet in the next six months (InformationWeek, 4/20).

Source: iHealthBeat

Diagnoses of A.D.H.D among children have increased dramatically in recent years, rising 22% from 2003 to 2007, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But many experts believe that this may not be the epidemic it appears to be.

Many children are given a diagnosis of A.D.H.D, researchers say, when in fact they have another problem: a sleep disorder, like sleep apnea. The confusion may account for a significant number of A.D.H.D. cases in children, and the drugs used to treat them may only be exacerbating the problem.

“No one is saying A.D.H.D. does not exist, but there’s a strong feeling now that we need to rule out sleep issues first,” said Dr. Merrill Wise, a pediatric neurologist and sleep medicine specialist at the Methodist Healthcare Sleep Disorders Center in Memphis.

The symptoms of sleep deprivation in children resemble those of A.D.H.D. While adults experience sleep deprivation as drowsiness and sluggishness, sleepless children often become wired, moody and obstinate; they may have trouble focusing, sitting still and getting along with peers.

The latest study “Sleep-Disordered Breathing in a Population-Based Cohort: Behavioral Outcomes at 4 and 7 years (click here to view Abstract)” suggesting a link between inadequate sleep and A.D.H.D. symptoms appeared last month in the journal Pediatrics. Researchers followed 11,000 British children for six years, starting when they were 6 months old. The children whose sleep was affected by breathing problems like snoring, mouth breathing or apnea were 40% to 100% more likely than normal breathers to develop behavioral problems resembling A.D.H.D.

Children at highest risk of developing A.D.H.D.-like behaviors had sleep-disordered breathing that persisted throughout the study but was most severe at age 2 1/2.

“Lack of sleep is an insult to a child’s developing body and mind that can have a huge impact,” said Karen Bonuck, the study’s lead author and a professor of family and social medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. “It’s incredible that we don’t screen for sleep problems the way we screen for vision and hearing problems.”

Source: New York Times Health