With all the new ways of communicating you knew that it would eventually leak to the medical field. In sleep testing and care it has changed to allow us to perform studies and follow up with patients in a whole new way.

Home sleep studies has come up with a whole new arsenal of new equipment to test for sleep disturbances. The newest technology the WatchPat uses peripheral arterial tension to determine if you stop breathing in your sleep. All you do is where a monitor around your wrist and a probe on two fingers all night. It is simple for anyone to wear.

There are several companies that monitor more information that include oxygen level, heart rate, body position, snoring, air flow and chest movement. This allows the doctor more information to determine what is going on during the night. The information is downloaded after the patient wears the equipment for the night and it is scored by a qualified sleep technician. Some example of these are the Respironics Stardust, Watermark Ares and the Clevemed Scout. The drawback is that the test is limited to testing for sleep apnea only. Other sleep disorders such as restless leg syndrome, bruxism and REM behavior disorders can not monitored with these devices.

Bluetooth technology has also changed where a test is done. A complete sleep study can be done at the patient's home. A technician comes to the house sets up the patient with a full sleep setup including head leads, leg leads, ekg, pulse oximeter, flow and respiratory belts. They attach all the wires to a wireless box and set up a laptop with a camera, microphone and modem. A technician will monitor it from a central location. The benefit of this is that you get to sleep in your own bed. The drawback is no one is immediately available if there is an issue except through the computer. The other issue is that many insurance policies will not pay for a study performed this way.

Treatment for sleep apnea has also gone high tech. The newest technology puts modems inside CPAP machines so you can monitor the patient's usage and any issues they might have from the first night. This will allow the technicians that monitor the CPAP as well as the ordering physician to follow the patient from the first night. They are able to monitor how many hours the equipment is used, the leak around the mask and if the patient is still having respiratory events. The technician or physician can then call the patient and discuss the issues or change the settings on the machine from their office. This increased compliance with the treatment. It also decreases office visits for the patient when they are having CPAP issues because everything can be done over a phone line.

New technology is here and there is more being developed and released all the time. Remote testing will allow access for patients who might miss an opportunity for care and all those who do receive care to be more successful over the long term.

Amy Korn-Reavis, RRT, RPSGT has been in the respiratory field for over twenty years. She has worked in all areas of her field and is currently focusing on sleep and how to help the community feel better by sleeping better. She is the manager of Emery Sleep Solutions an independent testing facility located in Apopka, Florida. She is also the coordinator of A.W.A.K.E. Orlando a support group for people with sleep disorders http://awakeorlando.ning.com If you have any questions about sleep or are looking for someone to speak at your community function she can be reached at areavis@emerymedicalsolutions.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amy_Korn-Reavis