Digital Health Technology for Sleep Apnea Diagnosis
Findings on the tatch sleep patch
At least 25 million Americans have sleep apnea, and 80% are undiagnosed
Sleep tests are crucial to diagnose disorders and are difficult to conduct
An opportunity exists for an easier and less invasive at-home test that can potentially decrease the rate of patients with undiagnosed sleep apnea
Tatch is a wireless adhesive patch for the detection of sleep disorders.
Tatch is a flexible, thin, and wireless adhesive patch that is designed to detect sleep disorders in patients. It is smaller and less invasive compared to currently available sleep tests.
It measures respiratory effect, body position, flow, movement, oxygen level, snoring, heart rate, and uses plethysmograph to measure blood flow fluctuation and pulse oximetry.
Data is transmitted via Bluetooth throughout the night to a mobile app. Data from the patch is transmitted via Bluetooth throughout the night to a companion mobile application, which stores the data for clinicians.
Adhesive patch
That is thin and flexible
measurements
Include respiratory effect, oxygen level, and heart rate
Less invasive
Than currently-available sleep tests
companion app
Stores the data for clinicians
CAUTION—Investigational device. Limited by Federal (or United States) law to investigational use.
Between March and May 2018, HITLAB conducted a pilot study of the Tatch technology to assess feasibility, comfort, and preliminary effectiveness.
HITLAB conducted a research study wherein patients who were already scheduled for an overnight polysomnogram (PSG) evaluation for sleep apnea (Arm 1) and patients who had undergone a home sleep test for sleep apnea in the past year (Arm 2) were instructed to wear two patches throughout their sleep for one night.
"With this [device], you can just put a shirt over it and no one will see. I didn’t even tell my roommate, she didn’t notice, she just thought it was my iPhone charging."
—tatch Study Participant
key findings
Patients perceive polysomnograms to be a poor indicator of their natural sleep
100 percent of participants felt that Tatch was more comfortable than a standard HST and viewed Tatch as less invasive, less restrictive and easy to use
All participants reported being interested in seeing their sleep data from the study
While early stage, there is indication of correlation between the Tatch and polysomnography devices
Patch design and placement needs to take diverse body types into account
Site staff reported that Tatch was much easier to set up than full polysomnography equipment
Financially, this would be cheaper for a study. I had a $650 bill from a sleep test. This is far more reasonable as an aid for diagnostics.
—tatch Study Participant
recent developments
updated january 2020
Tatch is currently running two clinical studies in hospitals and has three more pilot studies
FDA submission of the patch is upcoming
Tatch has doubled their funding and tripled the size of their team since the time of the hitlab study
"The other [sleep test] felt like a medical device, especially with the nostril medical tubes. I wasn’t a fan of that at all. with tatch, i can sleep normally, with my arm on my chest and not disturb it."
—tatch Study Participant
