Looking for the next big mHealth innovation? It may be in sleep-sensing technology, if a current crowdfunding effort is any indication.
A 22-year-old, British-born entrepreneur's Kickstarter campaign for his Sense sleep-tracking kit reportedly topped $1 million this past week – fewer than 14 days after its launch. James Proud had launched the campaign on July 23 with a goal of raising $100,000 in 30 days. He's now projected to raise $4 million by the end of that time period.
Proud – whose Southern California-based company, Hello, was financed by PayPal co-creator Peter Thiel - said deciding to focus on sleep sensing technology was easy.
"We spend a third of our day doing it," he said in a recent BBC interview. "It's the most critical part of the day, as how we perform when we're awake depends on how well we slept."
And judging by how much interest his product is garnering from investors, it might be something that providers should take note of as well.
Sense, which is due to be released in November and can be ordered in advance for $129, consists of a mobile device that's placed in the bedroom, a clip that attaches to the pillow and a smartphone app. It measures the user's sleep cycle, assigns a score for the previous night's sleep and gauges the best time to wake the user.
[See also: Accenture, Philips align to interpret patients brainwaves.]
Sleep studies aren't new, but they've been primarily relegated to the hospital or clinic, where patients are confined to a room, hooked up to sensors and, basically, told to go to sleep. The latest weave of consumer-focused mHealth technology, ranging from wearable sensors to smartwatches to the occasional "snore-stopping bed," aims to help consumers chart and evaluate their sleep cycles at home. But healthcare researchers and providers have been slow to catch on.
"If you want to learn whether you sleep on certain nights and not on others, then it should be looked at as a form of harmless entertainment," Jerry Siegel, of the University of California, Los Angeles Center for Sleep Research, told the BBC.
But sleeping – or a lack thereof – can have consequences as well. Conditions like insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can cause serious health problems, even death. And with the development of wireless sensors and platforms that enable researchers to analyze sleep and gather data from users in their own homes, the healthcare industry is taking notice.
Roughly three years ago, Cleveland Medical Devices (CleveMed) and Midmark joined forces to launch the Midmark SleepView Monitor and SleepView Portal. The telemedicine solution allows physicians to diagnose and treat patients with OSA while they're sleeping in their own beds, rather than in a hospital or clinic setting. Company officials said a pilot project conducted at four physician practices demonstrated a 70 percent reduction in diagnostic testing and treatment costs to the patient and insurer, while also greatly improving the ability of clinicians to diagnose OSA.
Last November, CleveMed (which took over the SleepView platform late in 2012 following the expiration of Midmark's distribution agreement) launched a sleep disorders program with Cardiology Consultants of Philadelphia, the largest independent cardiology group in the United States. And last month, the company announced the release of the SleepView Web Portal API, enabling sleep diagnostic data from the SleepView platform to be shared with cloud-based OSA treatment solutions as well as electronic medical records.
"Sharing our data with EMRs will allow our customers to more easily demonstrate cost savings and clinical benefit generated from their sleep apnea care. This is particularly beneficial to larger physician groups such as Accountable Care Organizations whose revenue can be enhanced with improved population health management," Sarah Weimer, CleveMed's Director of Sleep Products, said in a news release.
The National Sleep Foundation announced in May that it will be joining forces with the Consumer Electronics Association to develop standards for sleep-measuring technology through a newly formed Wearable Sleep Monitors Working Group. While the partnership targets the consumer-facing market represented by the CEA's massive CES show, held every January in Las Vegas, it should be noted that the show – and its concurrent Digital Health Summit – are attracting more and more healthcare providers each year, as the industry looks to bridge the gap between the doctor and the engaged patient.
"Sleep is as vital to our health as eating right and exercise," said David Cloud, the National Sleep Foundation's CEO, in a press release announcing the partnership. "We know that getting enough sleep and getting quality sleep have amazing health benefits, including improved mood, concentration, memory and productivity, and the ability to maintain a healthy weight. Given the technology to properly monitor their own sleep quality, consumers can better understand the link between their sleep and their health and set goals for improvement."
Judging by the interest in James Proud's product, providers might soon be seeing those benefits as well.
Related articles:
FDA proposal a 'huge boost' to mHealth innovation
