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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Sleep Solutions Inc. Closes $8 Million Financing
First At-Home Diagnostic Service for Sleep Apnea to be Introduced
PALO ALTO, Calif., December 11, 2000 – Sleep Solutions® Inc., provider of the Bedbugg™ At-Home Diagnostic Service for sleep disordered breathing, today announced the successful completion of an $8 million round of financing led by MedVenture Associates, of Orinda, Calif. Additional investors in this round include Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation and Thomas J. Fogarty, M.D.
According to Donald Bruce, Sleep Solutions’ executive vice president, this latest round of financing will be used to add resources and staff for sales, marketing and customer service to support the introduction of the first unassisted patient-diagnostic service for sleep-disordered breathing. Based on Sleep Solutions’ proprietary sound analysis technology, the new Internet-enabled service utilizes the company’s Bedbugg™ At-Home Diagnostic System designed for patient use without the assistance of a technician. The patented device received marketing clearance from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) last month.
" With this round of financing and FDA clearance, we are poised to market the Bedbugg system and provide a comprehensive diagnostic service to doctors and their patients, " said Bruce. "Using our service, patients can be tested for potentially life-threatening sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea in the comfort of their own bed, and physicians can prescribe this diagnostic test without capital investment or increased staff utilization."
Usually accompanied by loud snoring, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common type of sleep-disordered breathing and is characterized by repeated narrowing or collapse of the upper airway during sleep that restricts or prevents breathing. Of the more than 40 million habitual snorers in the United States, an estimated 20 million are afflicted with OSA at a healthcare cost of more than $15 billion dollars. With less than five percent of patients diagnosed and treated, OSA is a major medical problem that is associated with hypertension, depression, stroke, cardiac arrhythmias, myocardial infarction and other cardiovascular disorders.
Internet-Enabled, Full-Service Diagnostics
Once ordered by a physician, either by phone, fax or through Sleep Solutions’ secure Web site at www.sleepsolutions.com, Sleep Solutions delivers the Bedbugg System directly to the patient’s home. Following simple instructions and automatic voice prompts, the patient applies small, comfortable sensors to the upper lip, chest and fingertip and then presses the "Start" button, the only user control on the device. Voice prompts alert the patient if any of the sensors are disturbed during the night.
The bedside console collects data for up to three nights and is then returned to Sleep Solutions in a prepaid FedEx® shipper. Sleep Solutions downloads and compiles the data and a comprehensive summary is immediately sent to the physician via fax or through Sleep Solutions’ password-protected Web site.
About Sleep Solutions Inc.
Sleep Solutions Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., is a privately held, Internet-enabled service provider of at-home patient testing for sleep-disordered breathing. Using proprietary sound analysis technology, the company’s Bedbugg™ At-Home Diagnostic Service enables doctors to test and evaluate patients for snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep Solutions’ services leverage the power of the Internet to make the diagnosis and treatment of OSA more accessible than ever. For additional information, visit the Sleep Solutions Web site at www.sleepsolutions.com.
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