Sleep apnea equipment manufacturers; keeping you rested
One of the main causes of obstructive sleep apnea is the obstruction being caused by soft tissue such as fat pressing down on the throat and blocking it at night. As western countries have a larger percentage of obese people it also has a much greater proportion of the population suffering from sleep apnea. As such many sleep apnea equipment manufacturers target the US market for the majority of its sales.
Unfortunately, sleep apnea was traditionally well known for being difficult to identify by the sufferer; from an ambiguous tiredness to a loud snoring being some of the key signs that someone has it and is a challenging stigma to overcome. While sleep apnea equipment manufacturers already have created the technology needed to easily diagnose sleep apnea, at present around 80% of sufferers are unaware that they have the condition and what sleep apnea is.
Helping sleep apnea patients through dissemination
To help reduce the majority of sleep apnea sufferers one way is to make everyone healthier, with a better diet, regular exercise, and changing behavior on the reliance of motor vehicles where possible. By reducing the amount of soft tissue in the region of the throat many patients have a drastically improved sleeping experience.
Additionally, it is widely known in the medical profession that sleep apnea is an early indicator of cardiovascular disease. Unfortunately, nationwide marketing campaigns cost money and are seldom supported by government agencies as it is dismissed as a low-level medical issue due to the lack of understanding of what sleep apnea is and the strong link it has with cardiovascular disease.
Sleep apnea equipment manufacturers however are currently encountering a challenge with governmental funding support for awareness campaigns. Currently the only way information has been circulated is predominantly through medical staff which can be too late to lessen some tiredness related deaths and injuries.
Insurance companies validating the need for sleep apnea products
Awareness campaigns aside, sleep apnea equipment manufacturers have made major progress with insurance companies and medical accreditation for the adoption of the use of home sleep apnea tests (HSAT). This is helping save the healthcare system money through the reduced need for overnight observations and specialists in the majority of obstructive sleep apnea cases. This has freed up waiting times for patients that have more serious issues and made the diagnosis and observation process leaner.
The future of the sleep apnea industry
Sleep apnea diagnosis has improved drastically thanks to extensive research and development conducted by medical device manufacturers, medical council adoption and medical insurance support. Also, as obesity is a major problem in dealing with late stage Covid-19 patients more support for the sleep apnea industry and awareness may grow tacitly as a result.
There are long term opportunities for medical device manufacturers to get sleep apnea home testing devices in every home as a result of further exposure. It is likely that society will adopt and monitor their resting health as much as their exercise routines to ensure the best health possible. This will be achieved through better knowledge transfer activities and key adopters of the technology in the public eye.
Initial adoption of such technology may be based on superficial reasons such as the lack of oxygen that sleep apnea may cause could reduce antioxidants and accelerate aging processes. The greying of hair and deeper wrinkles may onboard some individuals for long term use of such system that may see them as an investment. It could be that this initial adoption will help knowledge transfer and other later stage adopters to move to this technology and a deeper health ethos established around it.