A new startup company called SLEEPON has recently launched their crowdfunding campaign for their first product, GO2SLEEP, “the world’s smallest sleep apnea detection ring.” Sleep apnea is a condition where an individual’s breathing is interrupted during sleep, and this can lead to excessive daytime sleepiness, irritability, and morning headaches. Left untreated, sleep apnea increases the risk of numerous serious health issues, including high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, and stroke. Sleep apnea affects around 25 million Americans, but many more people likely remain undiagnosed. Given these high numbers, detecting sleep apnea has become an area of great interest for many companies, including Fitbit and Apple.

GO2SLEEP is a ring made of waterproof medical silicone, weighing in at only six grams, that the user slips on a finger before going to bed and then takes off and places on the charging dock upon waking up. Of note, the battery life is about three days without charging. The band comes in three different sizes and is designed to ensure comfort and minimize sleep disruption. While worn, the device utilizes a number of sensors, including a 3-axis accelerometer and a pulse oximeter, to capture the user’s movement, heart rate, blood oxygenation level, and perfusion index. All of these are important measurements to obtain when tracking sleep quality and trying to identify sleep apnea, as blood oxygenation levels drop and heart rate increases when a person temporarily stops breathing in their sleep.

GO2SLEEP is a Bluetooth enabled device that continuously captures and stores this data while the user is sleeping. An artificial intelligence algorithm is utilized to interpret the data and provide the user with daily and weekly sleep reports via the free SleepON App or e-mail.

GO2SLEEP is not FDA approved to be used as a diagnostic test for sleep apnea. Users still need to consult with their healthcare providers to reach a definitive conclusion. Also, since GO2SLEEP cannot directly measure airflow or respiratory effort, it is unable to differentiate between the main two types of sleep apnea, obstructive versus central. SLEEPON recognizes that GO2SLEEP will not have the precision of a full-scale sleep study performed in a sleep laboratory (polysomnography). However, the company proposes that GO2SLEEP can screen for sleep apnea with comparable accuracy to the other bulkier, more expensive sleep apnea home monitoring devices on the market today, such as WatchPAT.

For individuals who present with signs and symptoms suggestive of sleep apnea, GO2SLEEP may be a useful option that provides a comfortable and affordable way to monitor one’s sleep and screen for this condition. GO2SLEEP is currently priced at $99 during its Indiegogo campaign and is expected to start shipping in May of 2018.