EASY-OSA
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluating an ambulatory monitoring system in obstructive sleep apnoea: a proof-of-concept study
IRAS ID
350021
Contact name
Christopher Turnbull
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford / Research Governance, Ethics and Assurance
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 2 months, 31 days
Research summary
Obstructive sleep apneoa (OSA) is a condition where the throat repeatedly closes during sleep, causing snoring distrupted sleep. Diagnosing OSA requires a home sleep study, which involves wearing equipment to record breathing and oxygen levels overnight. Patients find these tests cumbersome and there is lack of capacity to perform these studies in the UK due to a lack of trained staff. It would take roughly 40 years to perform sleep studies for everyone who needs them at the UK's present capacity. There is a need to develop new tests to meet demand.
Sleep studies are currently performed on a single night at home. A single night study will miss OSA in around 1 in 6 people. Therefore, new technology should be able to record more than one night of sleep so we do not miss a diagnosis of OSA.
Using existing equipment, we have developed method of measuring breathing patterns and oxygen levels to monitor people admitted to hospital with COVID, which is potentially more comfortable than a home sleep test. This involves wearing a patch stuck to the chest which can be worn for up to one week and is linked to a finger-oximeter and a computer tablet, called an ambulatory monitoring system or AMS. However, we do not know if ANS can pick-up changes in breathing pattern and oxygen levels that occur overnight in OSA.
We will ask people undergoing home sleep tests for possible OSA to also use our AMS. They will use our AMS on the same night as their home sleep study and for 4-6 nights following their sleep study. We aim to show whether our AMS can pick up changes in oxygen levels and breathing patterns, and we aim to see if it is feasible to use our AMS for 5-7 nights.
REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/NE/0168
Date of REC Opinion
22 Sep 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion