Project Description:

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is marked by the partial or complete collapse of the airway during sleep. The prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea in the pediatric population is on the rise, affecting an estimated 12-20% of children nationwide. Left untreated, OSA can cause adverse impacts, impair learning, memory, behavior regulation while also contributing to cardiovascular, endocrine and metabolic issues. Currently, the gold standard for diagnosis of OSA is the in-lab polysomnography (PSG), from which the Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) is calculated to quantify the severity of OSA. Unfortunately, sleep studies are expensive, difficult to access, and face extreme bottlenecking issues. Families often wait 3 to 6 months for a costly, invasive and uncomfortable sleep study. Once in the sleep lab, children struggle to sleep normally in a strange environment, with a multitude of electrodes, chest straps, and sensors attached to them. This can result in unrepresentative or unusable data leading to inaccurate diagnosis and poor treatment. The team identified the most significant user needs to include rapid assessment, pediatric tolerability, and screening validity. Current at-home sleep monitoring devices are primarily designed for adults, with only one FDA-cleared device for ages 6 and above that approaches the standard set by PSG testing. Airway visualization tools are a rapid alternative for airway screening, but none are designed specifically for pediatrics. These factors highlight a significant clinical and market gap for a high-fidelity, rapid, child-tolerable screening solution that will support earlier interventions, improved treatment planning, and reduced healthcare burden.