The only clinically proven daytime anti-snoring solution
Challenge
eXciteOSA is an innovative, award-winning medical device that strengthens weak tongue muscles known to be the root cause of sleep apnoea and snoring. It is a 20-minute daytime treatment that patients need to follow for 6 weeks. The device can be controlled by a remote, but for cost reduction purposes, as well as, a better user experience and treatment tracking, the eXciteOSA team wished to create a mobile app. We took on this task, which had several technical challenges, some of which are listed below. Technological challenges Creating a custom algorithm to specifically detect snoring from the sound recordings. The battery constraints when dealing with the heavy processing required for on-device processing of sleep tracking data. The potential instability of the Bluetooth(BLE) connectivity between the mobile device and the control unit.
Solution
Once we understood the user personas of eXciteOSA, we started envisioning the mobile solution for their needs. Our design and development teams built up the architecture together. The mobile app has two main functions: treatment device control and sleep tracking and monitoring. eXciteOSA can actually treat snoring by improving your tongue muscle function. Device control and patient guideThe ability to control the medical device during the treatment sessions is one very important feature of the app. Patiens have to undergo 20 minutes of tongue muscle toning and can set the intensity of the treatment or pause the sessions for up to 3 minutes if needed, before the treatment is considered done. A reminder can be set at a specific time each day so treatment won’t be missed. As eXciteOSA doesn’t need to be worn during the night, patients’ comfort isn’t bothered. Also, they don’t need to interrupt their sleep or night time routine by factoring in another thing to do or a device to wear. Sleep tracking and analysisThis is another important part of the eXciteOSA treatment. To determine its effectiveness and make the necessary lifestyle and treatment adjustments, patients record their sleep. The algorithm we developed analyses the recorded sleeping sounds to determine what can be considered snoring, and gives advanced details about sleeping patterns and snoring habits. Factors Before the patients go to sleep and start the recording, they can choose the factors that apply to them that day. These will be taken into consideration, as they may influence the quality of their sleep. Sleep recording To ensure a good recording of their sleeping sounds, necessary for analysing their different levels and detecting the snoring phases, it is important that patients place their phone close to their head. Once sleep recording starts, they don’t need to do anything more. Sleep rating Every morning patients are asked to give a subjective rating to their sleep. This tracks their perceived sleep quality that will be corroborated with the effectiveness of the treatment. It will also give some insight about the influence of the different factors. Sleep history One very useful feature of the app is the display of historical sleep data. This shows patients and their doctors information like snore trends (sleep time and snoring time), influencing factors and also calculates a snore score. This is extremely useful for improving patients’ treatment and life habits to reach the desired results. Visual style Our aim was to create an easy-to-use app, with a minimal interface and a smooth touch. The colors were chosen to convey a sense of calm and be well suited for night-time usage.
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