Review by Michael Clark
Director of Sales, Braebon, Ogdensburg, NY

MEDIBYTE – A NEW GENERATION PSG SCREENING DEVICE

We took a close look at all the available diagnostic screening units on the market and quickly realized there were deficiencies. This included product size, ease of use, reliability, performance and pricing. Also missing were any single enclosure screening devices that were directly  addressing the needs of the emerging dental and cardiology sleep medicine markets. Some companies were attempting to adapt their existing products to meet these new demands but no one was doing it well. So after consulting with numerous potential end users and sleep specialists we put together the development roadmap for a new generation PSG screening device. The end result was the new Medibyte diagnostic screener using patent-pending technology that is unique in the field of sleep medicine

MEDIBYTE’S UNIQUE FEATURES

First on the list is the performance per size ratio. The Medibyte has 10 channels packed into a single enclosure less than 3 square inches and weighing less than 3 ounces including the power source. Next, we focused on reducing power consumption allowing up to 24 hours of recording time using a single battery. The unit can also be programmed to go dormant for up to 30 days and then come alive and record back to back night studies. Included in the channel selection is a high sample rate auxiliary (AUX) port that can be programmed by the user to record a number of different signals including snoring sounds, EKG, EMG and EEG. Additional channels monitor dual effort, pressure, oximetry, pulse rate, body position and event markers. Finally, we made sure the enclosure was drop proof durable with extra strength LEMO connectors to increase reliability.

MEDIBYTE ACCOMMODATES DIVERSE AUDIENCES

All these features allow the Medibyte to be used in a number of different recording applications. For example, its small size makes it ideal for both adult and pediatric studies. Cardiologists entering into sleep medicine can program the unit for 24 holter recording while simultaneously measuring a number of sleep-breathing disorder parameters. Dental sleep professionals can now measure the true quantitative snoring sounds and db level with a microphone sensor sampled at 2000 Hz thereby allowing them to monitor the effectiveness of an oral device. General sleep testing facilities can use the unit to more accurately screen suspected sleep apnea patients since it provides much more information than just airflow and oximetry parameters.

MEDIBYTE IS EASY TO USE

The Medibyte is supplied with software that allows the user to program a number of preset configurations depending upon the application. We put considerable effort into making this an easy process that takes less than a minute to complete. Our goal was to make this procedure easy enough for a nine year to complete with little training and that was what we achieved. All the signals are downloaded from internal memory via USB for complete computer assisted analysis and full disclose review. A number of single page report templates are provided that detail snoring, sound level, respiratory, desaturation, leg movement and cardiac events related to body position. The user can accept the results from the computer analysis or edit any portion of the recording before printing a report.

MEDIBYTE BRINGS VALUE TO THE MARKET

The Medibyte was primarily developed to more accurately screen suspected SDB patients so they then can be quickly referred for a full PSG diagnostic study. As an example a busy cardiology practice could use a number of these units to screen their suspected patient group and monitor certain cardiac events at the same time. Since there is growing evidence suggesting a strong link between sleep disorders and cardiovascular consequences we believe this product will be incorporated into a number screening programs within cardiology driven sleep labs. Other areas of interest mentioned earlier that include pediatric and dental sleep will use this screener because it is so small and easy to use. It was never designed to replace the “gold standard” PSG study but only to assist and accelerate the diagnostic process of detecting many types of sleep disorders.