Darling, I won’t prod you again

PATIENT partners of snorers won’t have to rely on their own evidence any longer with a new app able to do a diagnosis for them — it’s just a matter of taking the smartphone to bed.

New smartphone technology will record and analyse a sleeper’s snoring overnight to tell them whether they have a serious disorder such as obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).

Sleep experts said the technology would allow those Aussies and their loved ones living with the common condition to get a quick and cheap diagnosis from the comfort of their own bed, avoiding the need for external testing.

The app will monitor the sleeper through the device’s inbuilt microphone and then provide a readout showing whether the snorer’s risk factor is mild, moderate or severe and what they should do next.

Research on the groundbreaking program developed over 20 years by teams of biomedical engineers and sleep and respiratory physicians was presented to this month’s Australasian Sleep Association conference.

Chief executive of software company ResApp Health Tony Keating said that the technology would be submitted to regulatory authorities over the next couple of months and he hoped it would be available to the public in early 2019.

Associate Professor Udantha Abeyratne said: “We’ve pioneered new technology that listens as you sleep and can tell you, virtually upon waking, whether you’re just a snorer or if there is something more sinister at work during your sleep.”

Studies indicate about a third of men and almost 20 per cent of women have OSA — a snoring-related disorder that disrupts breathing, limits blood oxygen levels and interferes with sleep.

Up to 80 per cent of people go undiagnosed.

People with OSA have higher rates of stroke, heart disease, high blood pressure and depression and are more likely to feel excessively tired.