Information for Physicians

The Watermark Medical ARES home sleep testing device is an FDA cleared, CMS approved, TYPE II device.  A Type II device is approved by Medicare and most insurance companies. By definition: sleep study test with type II portable monitor, unattended; minimum of 7 channels: EEG, EOG, EMG, ECG/heart rate, airflow, respiratory effort and oxygen saturation.

The ARES Unicorder is a reimbursable home sleep testing device that enables a physician to prescribe the appropriate therapy.  This product is one of the easiest to use in the market. It’s simple design and comfortable application leads to more compliance and better results. The process for this test is to have the patient’s primary care physician screen patients for sleep abnormalities during their routine visits.  When abnormalities are found, the physician will dispense a take home device that they have available in their office's.  The patient will take the device home, wear it that evening while they sleep, and return it to the physician office the next day.  Results will be available usually within 24 hours. 

Based on the results, the physician can:

a) rule out OSA

b) diagnose OSA and prescribe therapy or

c) prescribe further testing or titration to be performed in a sleep laboratory using PSG.  Prior to the home sleep test, only option 3 was available to primary care physicians at the expense and inconvenience of millions of patients.

Home Sleep Tests (HST) usually monitor anywhere from 4 to 9 channels of data for the physician.  ARES Unicorder measures blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) and pulse rate (reflectance pulse oximetry), airflow (by nasal cannula connected to a pressure transducer), respiratory effort (a combined signal using pressure transducer sensing forehead venous pressure, venous volume by photoplethysmography, and actigraphy), snoring levels (calibrated acoustic microphone), head movement and head position (accelerometers). Some HST devices (like the ARES) are sophisticated enough to include EEG, EOG, and EMG making it clinically comparable to a laboratory PSG.

Diagnosing and Treating Sleep Apnea

Medical providers and health insurance companies have finally realized that early detection is more cost-effective and conveniently manageable than the deadly consequences of apnea-related diseases such as obesity, hypertension, heart failure, stroke, sexual dysfunction, and depression. The home-based diagnosis and treatment of Sleep Apnea is a growing and vital field.  

Why use Watermark Medical?

Sleep Apnea Symptoms

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