At-home monitoring devices for the diagnosis of sleep apnea. Such tests now are administered at sleep centers through all-night studies. The studies measure how many times and for how long patients stop breathing while they sleep. Trouble is, occurrences of sleep apnea are growing at a much faster rate than new sleep centers. The self-contained, sleep-monitoring devices can be worn on the wrists and fingers of patients while they sleep in their own beds at home.

Customarily, the Clinic announces its top 10 innovations on the closing day of its annual medical innovation summit. This year’s summit — the Cleveland institution’s seventh — has focused on cancer and concludes today at the hospital’s Intercontinental Hotel.

Also part of the custom, the Clinic does not name the innovations or their makers. The Clinic’s list is meant to highlight what it considers the medical innovations that will have the most impact next year. Companies involved with the technologies relish the announcement and often produce their own press releases about the rankings, including them in marketing materials. Sometimes, the lists are premature. (Read Complete Post…)