Continuous open airway therapy (COAT) is an option over continuous positive airway pressure therapy (CPAP) for many patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnea. It can be more comfortable than CPAP if the intraoral device is fitted correctly to the patient anatomy, but as with CPAP compliance is key for long term benefits. SomnoMed, an Australian company, just won FDA clearance to offer its COAT devices with the DentiTrac Micro-Recorders from Braebon Medical (Kanata, Ontario, Canada).

The tiny recorders come attached to the therapy device and can tell when they’re inside the mouth, quietly recording that information along with the orientation to confirm that the patient is horizontal.

In the morning, the COAT device is placed into a special cradle through which the data on the DentiTrac Micro-Recorder is upload to online storage. This happens via an infrared transmitter, rather than Bluetooth or some other form of radio transmission.

This is the first FDA approved use of the DentiTrac technology, so we expect to see other intraoral devices getting outfitted with it in the coming years to help track whether patients are really getting the most out of their therapies.

source:SomnoMed