The Pillar Procedure helps you stop snoring or reduce your snoring.  The Pillar Procedure from Medtronic is a new way to tackle the global health problems related with sleep disorders like sleep apnea and snoring especially.

During the Pillar Procedure, a doctor places three tiny woven implants, which look like tiny soft pillars, into the soft palate using a sterile delivery tool. Over time, the implants, together with the body’s natural fibrotic response, add structural support to stiffen the soft palate and reduce the tissue vibration that can cause snoring. The implants also help reduce the tissue collapse that can obstruct the upper airway and cause obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Read the rest of this entry

According to research presented at the School of Medicine and the University of Navarra Hospital by Dr. Roberto Muñoz, a physician of the Neurology Service of the Hospital Complex of Navarra, those persons with serious cases of sleep apnea have more than twice the possibility of suffering an ischemic stroke, specifically, 2.5 times more.

This was confirmed in an study undertaken for his doctoral dissertation among 394 subjects aged 70 or more.  “After studying the quality of their sleep, we tracked the volunteers over the course of six years.  After which, 20 of the  study subjects had suffered a stroke”, explained this native Pamplonan.  Furthermore, he confirmed that in addition to the fact that sleep apnea affects above all persons of middle and advanced age—it is estimated that 5% of all adults suffer from it—this prevalence may significantly increase with age.

In addition, the new Ph.D. in Medicine noted that sleep apnea “can appear in childhood, although with different causes and characteristics”.  Among the predisposing factors for suffering this disorder, the expert emphasized obesity: “Therefore, one of the measures for avoiding the problem is losing weight.  In fact, there are patients who have been able to make their sleep apnea disappear simply by reducing their weight”. Read the rest of this entry

SleepApneaDisorder/[ Press Release ]/OKLAHOMA CITY/ Graymark Healthcare, Inc. , the nation’s second largest provider of diagnostic sleep services and an innovator in comprehensive care for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), reported financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010.

Net revenues in 2010 increased 30% to $22.8 million from $17.6 million in 2009 (as adjusted for the discontinued operations of the company’s retail pharmacy business). The annual increase is primarily attributable to realizing a full year of operating revenue amounting to $6.7 million from the Somni and Eastern acquisitions completed in August and September of 2009, respectively. Read the rest of this entry

The National Institutes of Health estimates one in 10 adults over 65 (a total of 18 million Americans) suffers from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a disorder in which obstruction in the upper airway can lead to interrupted breathing and sleep.

In obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the tongue and other tissues of the throat obstruct the airway during sleep, blocking breathing for sometimes up to a minute. These events can occur multiple times throughout the night and severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been linked with increased risks for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke and accidents resulting from daytime drowsiness.

This spring, two UC researchers are collaborating in an international, multi-center trial on an investigational device for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Read the rest of this entry

Victoria Wofford, 54, admitted stealing a stunning $17 million from American Express through fraudulent charges on  defunct business travel accounts.

And she  swiped another $8 million from a defense contractor by systematically over billing them for travel booked through her company.

“I’m not sure what I was thinking at the time, it may have had something to do with the undiagnosed sleep apnea that I apparently suffered from for many, many years,” Wofford told Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus before he sent her to prison.

It was not clear if the self-described “workaholic” has since been diagnosed or is being treated for the disorder that causes a person to periodically stop breathing while they sleep and can leave them drowsy and confused during waking hours. Read the rest of this entry

“Snorers never get restful sleep,” says entrepreneur David Hernandez, “but neither do the people who love them. In fact, men are twice as likely to be snorers than women. That means it’s a constant ‘battle of the sexes’ every night – a nudge here, a poke there – but VitalSleep ends the war some wives get a good night’s rest.”

Hernandez went about creating the VitalSleep stop snoring device when his dentist prescribed a mouthpiece that allows more air to flow freely to stop snoring. The problem is the device came with a huge price tag of $3,000. He asked his doctor for a more economical solution, but there wasn’t one, so that’s when Hernandez went to work. Read the rest of this entry

SleepApneaDisorder/[ Press Release ]/ DALLAS, TX – /  Attorneys for The Snoring Center, the nationally renowned Dallas-based clinic for the treatment of snoring and sleep apnea, are noting that the Sereno Center for Snoring Solutions in San Francisco is no longer claiming to be the world’s largest provider of the Pillar Procedure or the first practice of its kind. Sereno also has altered its website and advertisements to remove claims of being the world’s first exclusive provider of clinical treatments for snoring, sleep apnea and related disorders.

The Snoring Center filed a federal lawsuit against Sereno in November 2010 based on allegations that the company’s owners fraudulently obtained The Snoring Center’s proprietary information and made false advertising statements to promote its clinical practice. Read the rest of this entry

Snoring is a common sign of sleep apnea, a disorder that increases the risk of high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease? Sleep apnea is the most common sleep disorder, affecting nearly 20 million Americans.

To address this problem, Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital is expanding services for diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea and other sleep disorders. Last month, the IU Health Ball Memorial Sleep Disorders Center moved to 6004 Kilgore Ave. This new facility offers convenient parking and entry, new equipment, an innovative diagnostic computer system, and twice as many beds (an increase from six to 12) for diagnostic testing.

After being referred by their physicians, patients are asked to spend a night in one of the Sleep Disorders Center’s 12 rooms designed for optimal sleep comfort. Read the rest of this entry

Cactus Semiconductor, a Chandler company is doing leading-edge work in designing integrated  circuits for big advances in medicine. The company is  working with other high-tech businesses  to create devices implantable in the human body.

“We’re working on devices now in trials that are being used to treat things  like sleep apnea devices delivering microscopic amounts of drugs at  precise intervals to treat pain or to treat some kind of disease,” said James  McDonald, president and co-founder of Cactus Semiconductor, a $3.5 million  company.

The neurostimulation devices could be used to treat chronic pain, epilepsy,  Parkinson’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, Crohn’s disease, psoriasis  and atherosclerosis. Devices are typically implanted in the chest cavity with leads running to  areas needing stimulation, such as the brain. The devices are about 2 inches by  3 inches, and hold a 2-millimeter chip. Read the rest of this entry

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the “India Patient Monitoring and Diagnostic Systems Market Opportunity and Growth Trend Forecast till 2016” report to their offering.

The Market Intelligence report provides critical market data for India patient monitoring and diagnostics market and its product categories. The data includes market size in terms of value and volume; average selling price for each product type, growth trends and market shares of companies at sector and category level. It’s vital cross category comparison and cross sub-category comparison section makes analysis very handy for company professionals. The report helps professionals in mapping market size, competition, understanding historic and future growth trends. It covers important categories such as blood pressure monitors, cardiovascular monitoring systems, blood glucose monitoring devices, hearing diagnostics, micro-electromechanical systems multiparameter patient monitors, remote monitoring systems, sleep apnea diagnostic systems and wireless hospital ambulatory monitors. Market Size: Market size in terms of value ($) and volume (units), for each level of segmentation from 2005 to 2010 and forecast till 2016.

Watermark Medical, Boca Raton, Fla, is launching WM SleepCare, a comprehensive sleep  benefits management program. The Web-based program offers insurance  providers and self-insured employer groups an “end-to-end” program to  manage patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) that includes  utilization oversight and compliance management.

“The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) made it  possible for insurance providers to offer home sleep testing. We quickly  recognized the opportunity to build a sleep benefits management program  with tight controls and utilization oversight, something the insurance  industry is rapidly embracing,” said Sean Heyniger, chief executive  officer of Watermark Medical.

According to Watermark Medical, the system utilizes the company’s  cloud-based platform that improves workflow, integrates therapy  alternatives, and reduces the cost of health care delivery.

“We are transforming the entire industry to a more streamlined and  cost-effective solution, while improving patient care,” said Charlie  Alvarez, president of Watermark Medical.

A new report from the American Thoracic Society (ATS), published in the Proceedings of the American Thoracic Society,  identifies barriers preventing incorporation of portable monitor testing into clinical management pathways and recommends research and  development needed to address those barriers. It summarizes the  recommendations of an international workshop sponsored by the ATS, AASM,  the American College of Chest Physicians, and the European Respiratory  Society.

“The consensus of the workshop participants was that outcomes-based  research studies are needed to demonstrate the efficacy and  cost-effectiveness of portable monitor testing,” said Samuel Kuna, MD,  associate professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and  chief of the Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Section at  Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and chair of the  workshop’s steering committee. “There is also a need to develop clinical  sleep research networks capable of performing large, prospective  studies.”

Recommendations were developed regarding research study design and  methodology that include the need to standardize technology, identify  the patients most appropriate for ambulatory management of obstructive  sleep apnea, ensure patient safety, and identify sources of research  funding. Read the rest of this entry

One of the latest medical advances is the recent FDA approval of the use of the da Vinci Surgical System for transoral otolaryngologic surgical procedures to treat benign tumors and select malignant tumors in adults. The da Vinci Surgical System is a high-tech, robotic platform utilizing specialized instruments and a high performance vision system. The surgeon sits at a console and directs the movements of the system aided by a high-powered camera.

“We are very excited about the possibilities that robotic surgery has brought to otolaryngology, particularly in tongue, throat and mouth cancers,” says Dr. Harris. “The da Vinci Surgical System now allows us to remove the cancer from patients’ throats through the mouth with no external incisions or insertion of long-term tubes for breathing and feeding. This is a huge advantage over traditional open surgery, which may involve a long incision, bony cuts and often requires a breathing tube and possibly a feeding tube. Traditional surgery may also result in speech and swallowing deficits,” he explains.

The robotic surgery may provide other additional advantages as well. Some studies suggest that patients may be able to use a reduced amount of radiation and chemotherapy, or avoid ?it altogether.

Dr. Harris — the first and currently the only da Vinci Surgical System robotic technology-trained, minimally invasive otolaryngology surgeon in Wichita and the surrounding counties — has found robotic surgery beneficial in the treatment of sleep apnea.

“Until now, patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea and who were resistant to the CPAP [continuous positive airway pressure] had relatively few choices in treatment,” says ?Dr. Harris. “Robotic technology allows us to successfully perform tongue-based resection for much improved breathing and with a much shorter recovery.”

Dr. Harris currently sees patients in Newton and two Wichita locations. For more information, contact Dr. Harris at (316) 613-4680 or visit his bio page on www.wichitaclinic.com.

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the “US Patient Monitoring and Diagnostic Systems Market Opportunity and Growth Trend Forecast till 2016” report to their offering.

The Market Intelligence report provides critical market data for US  Patient monitoring and diagnostics market and its product categories. The data includes market size in terms of value and volume; average selling price for each product type, growth trends and market shares of  companies at sector and category level. It’s vital cross category comparison and cross sub-category comparison section makes analysis very handy for company professionals. The report helps professionals in  mapping market size, competition, understanding historic and future  growth trends. It covers important categories such as blood pressure monitors, cardiovascular monitoring systems, blood glucose monitoring devices, hearing diagnostics, micro-electromechanical systems  multiparameter patient monitors, remote monitoring systems, sleep apnea diagnostic systems and wireless hospital ambulatory monitors.

• Market Size: Market size in terms of value ($) and volume (units), for each level of segmentation from 2005 to 2010 and forecast till 2016.
• Market Growth: Market growth in terms of value ($) and volume (units),   for each level of segmentation from 2005 to 2010 and forecast till 2016.
• Competitive Analysis: Market share (%) of companies is covered at  sector and category level for 2010.
• Pricing Analysis: Average selling price ($) for each product type from 2005 – 2010 and forecast till 2016.

Cross category comparison and cross sub-category comparison – Forecast and historic market growth and market size comparison for various  categories and sub-categories from 2005 to 2010 and 2010 to 2016.

A very recent  community research study concluded by a Pune-based doctor showed that only 4% of the population actually knows about sleep disorders and sleep apnea. The study showed that 12% of the urban population is at risk fromObstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).Conducted by Dr Rakesh Datta, it has suggested high incidence of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)  in the urban population. “Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is characterised by reduction in blood oxygen levels as the sufferer is unable to breathe sufficiently during sleep. People suffering from this disease may be unaware of this condition and snoring, at times, may be the only hint of its existence. This lack of awareness is like a ticking time bomb and, if untreated, Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) can cause other complications,” said Datta. Read the rest of this entry