Home Sleep Testing
Saratoga sleep and brain utilizes the WatchPAT One.
The WatchPAT One is an FDA-approved home sleep apnea test that accurately detects obstructive and central sleep apnea. It is easy to use, accurate, and reliable; the best part, testing occurs in your bedroom's comfort, which is more representative of your sleep habits. The smartphone app transmits the WatchPAT ONE's data to the cloud. Once the study is complete, we can immediately review the sleep data and study results anytime, anywhere. The WatchPAT One is disposable so there is no return shipment, cleaning, downloading, charging, or infection risk.
Dr. Rama has the most experience of possibly any physician in the world using the WatchPAT technology. He has used the technology since it’s inception. He has also been a principle investigator in trials designed to expand the indication for the device and published the data in peer-reviewed journals.
Peripheral Arterial Tone (PAT)
Peripheral Arterial Tonometry (PAT) measures arterial pulse volume changes in the finger. Normal breathing is associated with normal blood flow.
The termination of sleep-disordered breathing events is associated with increased heart rate, blood pressure, and sympathetic activation. The increase in sympathetic activation results in peripheral vasoconstriction.
Benefits of the WatchPAT One
Sleep Architecture
WatchPAT's clinically validated Sleep Architecture provides information on sleep staging, including sleep efficiency, sleep latency, and REM latency. It also detects REM related sleep apnea with REM and non-REM AHI.
The WatchPAT One prevents up to 20% misdiagnosis with true sleep time.
WatchPAT One calculates AHI and RDI using the patient's true sleep time rather than the total recorded time used in most home sleep tests. Sleep
True sleep time reduces the risk of misdiagnosis and misclassification that has been reported up to 20% with using total recording time.
The WatchPAT One produces a comprehensive report including the following information:
AHI (total apneas and hypopneas per hour)
Central AHI (central apneas and hypopneas per hour)
Snoring
Body Position
Oxygen saturation
Heart Rate
Sleep Stages
It's Simple
Only 3 points of contact with a 98% success rate
It’s Accurate
WatchPAT is clinically validated with an 89% correlation to an in-lab polysomnogram.
It's Reliable
The WatchPAT signal is approved in the 2017 AASM HSAT Clinical Practice Guidelines for Adults with OSA.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does WatchPAT One detect REM sleep from the finger?
REM sleep attenuates and fluctuates the PAT signal. The PAT signal, along with the variable heart rate signal, helps differentiate REM from non-REM sleep. Also, REM sleep is distinguished from the wake state by an internal actigraphy. Identifying REM sleep is clinically essential to prevent under-treatment of apnea if predominantly REM-related.
How does WatchPAT detect sleep architecture?
A built-in actigraph and algorithm distinguish sleep from wake in those with and without obstructive sleep apnea. Peer-reviewed journal articles have vetted WatchPAT's sleep-wake algorithm. The results show excellent agreement between actigraphy and PSG in determining sleep efficiency, total sleep time, and sleep latency Specifically, the agreement is 86% in normal subjects, 86% in mild OSA, 84% in moderate OSA, and 80% in severe OSA).
How does WatchPAT differentiate between respiratory arousals from Periodic Limb Movement arousals or spontaneous arousals?
The algorithms differentiate between respiratory-related arousals and Periodic Limb Movement or spontaneous arousals via detection of specific patterns in the PAT signal coupled with the presence or absence of the pulse oximetry signal's unique dynamics.
How does WatchPAT detect Apneas, Hypopneas, and Respiratory Effort Related Arousals?
Peripheral Arterial Tone (PAT) mirrors changes in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) caused by respiratory disturbances during sleep. The ANS regulates many essential functions, and it does this without our conscious control. Among its activities are regulating blood vessel size and blood pressure, airflow in the lungs, and the heart's electrical activity and contractile ability. An algorithm analyzes the PAT signal amplitude, heart rate, and oxygen saturation to identify and classify breathing problems while you sleep. An AHI (Apnea-Hypopnea Index) and RDI (Respiratory Disturbance Index) are determined using specific signal patterns. The AHI is used to calculate sleep apnea severity based on the total number of complete cessations (apneas) and partial obstructions (hypopneas) of breathing per hour of sleep. The RDI includes apneas, hypopneas, and RERAs (Respiratory Effort Related Arousals). A RERA is an arousal from sleep that follows 10 seconds or more of increased respiratory effort but does not meet apnea or hypopnea criteria. The snoring sensor enables the clinician to determine if the respiratory events are obstructive. The body position sensor allows the clinician to assess if there is a positional component to the sleep apnea.
