Sleep Studies

We conduct overnight and day studies in our four-bed center located in the DCH Medical Tower.  The center was designed for safety and comfort, with quality studies in mind.  The location is fifty yards from the back entrance to the DCH Medical Department.  If a problem arises, help is available and transfer is simple.  Our rooms are comfortable and have private bath and dressing space.  Each is located within fifteen feet of a sleep technician who monitors the study and can communicate through speakers or simple calling.  The technician is there to help with getting up and down as needed throughout the night.  Monitoring of brain, eyes, respiration, heart, leg and oxygen is done with sensors attached to the nose, scalp, chest, abdomen, legs and one finger.  Infrared dark video monitoring records body movement.  A speaker system documents snoring.  All can be demonstrated before the study by your technician.

Diagnostic home studies may be done when sleep apnea appears highly probable and the person has very little complicating history.  The quality is not as good as an in-house study and misses about 15 percent of positives.

If we find sleep apnea and treatment with constant positive airway pressure (CPAP) is chosen, a night in the center to find the best mask and pressures is recommended.  In more severe sleep apnea requiring higher pressures, auto adjusting equipment is tailored to the patient’s need to make the system as comfortable as possible.