A STUDENT of The University of Washington (UW) has developed an innovative technology to solve a problem that he personally experienced: obstructive sleep apnea. The condition causes people to repeatedly stop breathing while they sleep, and can result in high blood pressure, depression, difficulty concentrating, headaches and other harmful effects.

Ryan Yousefian suffered from sleep apnea when he was younger and received treatment from his dad, an orthodontist. In 2017 he co-founded ApnoMed, a startup that sells a device to correct the disorder without negative side effects associated with existing technologies.

Last week, ApnoMed was awarded the US$25,000 Herbert B. Jones Foundation grand prize after Yousefian successfully pitched his idea to a panel of judges at the 2020 Dempsey Startup Competition.

“Our longterm vision for this business is to be the Invisalign of sleep apnea treatment,” Yousefian told judges during his pitch, citing the company synonymous with bracketless braces.

Yousefian explained how other devices to be used to correct sleep apnea force a user’s jaw into an under bite position, potentially causing jaw pain, a permanent shift in their bite, and movement of teeth. Another treatment approach uses a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine that requires a user to wear a mask while sleeping. The machine can be noisy and disruptive, and many patients give up on the therapy.

ApnoMed is selling a device that’s something like a high-tech night guard that triggers a response in users so they naturally move their jaw position.

(SD-Agencies)