# Wearable ultrasound systems and software for assessment of obstructive sleep apnea

> **NIH NIH R43** · SONOSA MEDICAL, INC. · 2022 · $299,889

## Abstract

Project Summary
Sonosa Medical is developing a wearable ultrasound platform to enable advanced management of Obstructive sleep
apnea (OSA) at an unprecedented precision and scale. OSA is a shockingly common condition that, along with side effects
and comorbidities leads to a 10-15 year drop in life expectancy. When treated adequately, OSA is a manageable condition;
however, existing management strategies are not adequate to meet the current and growing problem of OSA worldwide.
Diagnosis of OSA is accomplished with a polysomnogram (PSG) or home sleep apnea test (HSAT) that uses multiple sensors
to indirectly count obstructions, enabling an estimate of severity score: the apnea hypopnea index (AHI, number of events
per hour). Though sensitive and specific as a diagnostic, the indirect nature of PSGs both in lab and at home provide little
information on the cause of a patient’s obstructions. Despite phenotypic differences in OSA caused by numerous factors,
treatment decisions follow a consistent path. Treatment of OSA begins with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP),
which uses a mask over the mouth and/or nose and a pump to create a pneumatic splint that holds the entire airway
open. The broad effectiveness of CPAP is often negated by the intolerable discomfort created by the air pressure, mask,
and noise leading to high non-compliance rates estimated at 35-60%.
Once CPAP is rejected by patients, alternative treatments include oral appliances, surgery, implantable nerve stimulators,
and pharmaceuticals. Though CPAP impacts the entire airway, most alternatives target specific tissues that contribute to
obstructions such as the tongue base, soft palate, uvula, tonsils and adenoids, etc. Research shows that identification of
these contributing tissues, termed the level or site of obstruction (SO), can help direct treatment and improve
effectiveness. Indeed, newly proposed management strategies hinge on identifying phenotypic causes of OSA.
OSA presents unique diagnostic challenges that have yet to be overcome by adaptation of existing techniques. To visualize
obstructions, continuous monitoring on a sleeping patient must be achieved. Further, the scale of OSA requires a
technology that is physically and financially accessible outside major academic hospitals. The information gathered with
existing techniques such as Drug-induced sleep endoscopy(DISE), show promise but requires invasive, expensive
procedures that only mimic sleep with sedation.
Sonosa Medical has developed a wearable ultrasound system that is uniquely suited to the challenges presented by OSA.
As a platform, wearable airway ultrasound can provide visibility of the airway in a small, comfortable device that can be
used during natural sleep. Proposed in this work are steps to collect preliminary data to inform development of algorithms
for processing ultrasound data needed to simplify the diagnostic interpretation of images and determination of SO.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10484666
- **Project number:** 1R43HL164326-01
- **Recipient organization:** SONOSA MEDICAL, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Stephen Restaino
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $299,889
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10484666

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10484666, Wearable ultrasound systems and software for assessment of obstructive sleep apnea (1R43HL164326-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10484666. Licensed CC0.

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