Team of leading sleep scientists win the American Academy of Sleep Medicine award by using advanced sleep analytics based on ORP

June 15, 2021: Winnipeg, Manitoba. A team of leading sleep scientists led by Dr. Amy Bender of Cerebra Health (Cerebra), a leader in sleep science, has won the inaugural American Academy of Sleep Science (AASM) Sleep Disruptors competition. The competition challenged sleep science leaders to reinvent the management of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

The winning team included Dr. Amy Bender, Cerebra Director of Clinical Sleep Medicine, along with Dr. Eric Chalmers of Cerebra, Dr. Magdy Younes of the University of Manitoba, Dr. Melinda Jackson of Monash University, Dr. Richard Berry of the University of Florida and Florida Health Sleep Centre, Dr. Najib Ayas of the University of British Columbia and Leon Judah Blackmore Centre for Sleep Disorders. The team described a transformational future where in-home, sleep lab quality diagnostic testing combined with Cerebra’s proprietary Odds Ratio Product (ORP) analysis provide the tools for clinicians to deliver on the promise of convenient, personalized treatment of sleep quality for patients.

“In laboratory sleep testing is the gold standard for diagnosing sleep disorders but the technology is costly and inconvenient while a wealth of information is not being utilized as a patient’s diagnosis is reduced to how many times their breathing is disrupted while sleeping.” says Dr. Bender.  “As a result, a patient’s sleep quality is often ignored in the prescription of CPAP therapy for sleep apnea which we believe is a fundamental cause of poor results.  Without a true understanding of sleep, patients simply aren’t getting the help they need.”

The winning submission “Putting the Sleep back into Sleep Medicine” described the opportunity to include sleep quality as a part of OSA diagnosis. Objective sleep measurement through Cerebra’s ORP analysis allows physicians to understand the impact OSA is having on the patient’s sleep, dramatically improving the diagnosis and management of OSA. The team also presented research demonstrating how the use of new in-home, self-applied sleep testing such as Cerebra’s Prodigy Sleep System, will reduce the overall cost of sleep diagnostic testing.  It’s this combination of scaled testing and objective measurement of sleep that is set to change the field of sleep medicine.

“We know we can do better,” adds Dr. Bender, “By using advanced sleep analytics based on ORP we can start to truly understand the impact of OSA on a patient’s sleep and better direct therapy tailored to a patient’s individual OSA diagnosis.  We’ve always known how important sleep is to health and now we have the tools to directly measure and treat sleep as a primary outcome of sleep medicine.”