TROY, N.Y. -- A computer program that can detect potentially
fatal episodes of sleep apnea may soon offer physicians an easier
and cheaper way to diagnose their patients.
Michael I. Savic, a sound specialist and engineering professor
at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, is working to perfect the
program, which was created by recording real cases of the nighttime
breathing disorder.
Sleep apnea tends to affect people who snore and is
characterized by brief periods of being unable to breathe. The
condition, which afflicts some 18 million Americans, has been the
focus of increased interest in recent years because it has been
associated with excessive and dangerous daytime drowsiness,
especially among truck drivers.
If successful, Savic's invention would allow physicians to
diagnose their patients without expensive stays in hospital-based
sleep centers. Left untreated, sleep apnea can cause sexual
dysfunction or death.
``If it's suspected that someone has sleep apnea, instead of
taking him to the hospital you send him home with a microphone and
let him sleep,'' Savic said.
Such a concept has a lot of potential, according to Dr. Douglas
Phelps, the director of the Sleep Disorders Program at the Stratton
Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Albany, which has been helping
Savic collect data.
The project is a cooperative effort among physicians at the
Albany Medical Center, the Stratton VA and Savic.
Sleep studies currently cost as much as $1,800, Phelps said.
``I think a lot of people who might have sleep apnea aren't
being tested either because it's too expensive or too
complicated,'' he said. ``If there were something more portable ...
there would be more testing and more cases found, and ultimately,
our highways would be safer.''
Savic's solution is a tiny microphone attached to a patient's
pajamas.
The sound of snoring then gets recorded. The information is
later plugged into a computer that can identify sound wave patterns
associated with sleep apnea. Armed with this information,
physicians could then quickly diagnose the condition and refer
patients for appropriate care.
Savic's latest project draws on years of sound research and a
long list of other successful machines, including a device used by
Walt Disney to transform voices and a system used by the Texaco oil
company to detect pipeline leaks.
Savic has six patents in his name and another 50 based on his
work in sound and engineering. One of his latest projects, a device
that can separate sounds, was sold to the Canadian government.
In recent years, Savic has been devoting more attention to
biotechnology projects, in part because the health care industry
tends to be well-funded. Savic also saw firsthand the potential for
improvements in the field after a 1996 hospital stay.
One of Savic's biotech inventions is a hand-held device that can
identify dangerous deposits of cholesterol by sound.
Savic's latest research on sleep apnea builds on his earlier
work. He is currently seeking funding from the National Institutes
of Health for the project.
``It's fun what I'm doing,'' Savic said. ``I enjoy it very
much.''
