Home Sleep Test

There have been recent advances in sleep technology that have allowed a patient to be tested for sleep apnea in the comfort of the their home. The Home Sleep Test (HST) is designed to diagnosis sleep apnea and other sleep disordered breathing issues. The HST is not only convenient for the patient, but experts have also agreed that by testing the patients sleep in their normal home environment may actually give a more accurate picture of how the patient sleeps, as the laboratory setting may be uncomfortable for the patient.

Usually, the patient will take the device home, wear it that night while they sleep, and return it to the physician's or dentist's office the next day. The device is usually worn on the forehead, arm, or chest. The results of the test are usually available within 24 hours. The test will either diagnose the patient with sleep apnea, rule out sleep apnea, or alert the physician of another sleep disordered breathing condition.

Home Sleep Tests monitor anywhere from 4 to 12 channels of data for the physician. This can include, snoring, respiration, heart rate, respiratory effort, actigraphy (head movement/position), and oximetry (amount of oxygen in the blood). Also, some HSTs are more sophisticated and include EEG, EOG, and EMG making it clinically comparable to a laboratory PSG.

For Frequently Asked Questions about Sleep Testing, Click Here.