Reported by Sol Lim, Medigate News / Oct 08, 2020
HoneyNaps is planning to release "SOMNUM," which is automatically read by AI, within 5 minutes of polysomnography test data.
Presentation of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, application status for FDA approval. The sleep center medical staff shortened the analysis time and produced quick and accurate results.
A solution that reduces time in disease prediction by automatically reading the results of the polysomnography test by Artificial Intelligence (AI), not by a sleep driver, will be released within this year.
Healthcare startup HoneyNaps announced on the 8th that it is about to release "SOMNUM," a solution software to diagnose, predict, and prevent diseases by automatically analyzing data measured in polysomnography test based on AI algorithms.
The company said, "Medical staff at the sleep center, who have to monitor patients sleeping and analyzing tests in real time at night, can use SOMNUM to shorten the analysis time, thus focusing more on patient care. We expect to be able to provide patients with quick and accurate results.”
According to a U.S. sleep market report, more than 100 million people around the world suffer from sleep disorders such as sleep apnea and insomnia, but about 90% do not receive treatment. Globally, various new technologies are being developed in the sleep industry, and as of 2020, the market size is at 76.11 billion dollars. The average annual growth rate of the sleep industry is expected to reach 14% by 2026.
The polysomnography test diagnoses sleep disorders. During sleep, brain waves, eye movements, muscle movements, breathing, and electrocardiogram are measured, and at the same time, sleep conditions are recorded through video. Various sleep-related diseases can be diagnosed by analyzing the records obtained from the test.
The polysomnography test is a very precise and professional test in which a sleep specialist scores every 30 seconds and reads again by a sleep specialist.
It usually takes three to four hours for a sleep driver to analyze and review patient sleep data for more than six hours every 30 seconds. However, with the use of "SOMNUM," developed by HoneyNaps, the analysis time is shortened to four to five minutes.
The validity of the AI algorithm of "SOMNUM" was announced in August of this year at the Sleep 2020 Conference hosted by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
Choi Ji-ho, a professor of otolaryngology at Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital, Jeong Seok-hoon, a professor of psychiatry at Asan Medical Center, Kim Hyun-joon, an otolaryngology professor at Ajou University, Kang Shin-il, a professor of mechanical engineering at Yonsei University, and Raymond Fu, a professor at Northeastern University participated in the development. The product’s safety and effectiveness were confirmed through clinical trials.
The company applied for approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August 2021 to enter the U.S. market in the same year; the application is currently still under review. After receiving a request for data reinforcement, the company completed the second application in September and expected it to be approved in November. Concurrently, domestic licensing procedures are also underway for HoneyNaps.
The company touted that, “unlike other video-based artificial intelligence software released so far, Honeynap expects to be FDA approved in the fourth quarter of this year as Korea's first deep learning-based analysis software capable of analyzing large-capacity signals in real time”.
In the future, the company is planning to launch an integrated solution that connects the sleep management personal healthcare systems with solution used in the diagnostic area of the sleep center to the sleep management of the environment.
HoneyNap’s Lee Ho-dong, General Technical Officer (CTO), said, "Sleep disorders are not only important to accurately diagnose in medical institutions, but also to continuously track sleep patterns, improve and maintain eating habits in individual daily lives. Currently, HoneyNaps is focusing its capabilities on developing solutions that combine AI analysis technology with personal healthcare services by researching with sleep and artificial intelligence experts.”
“At the same time with FDA approval, we will be recognized for our technology in the global market by entering the U.S. market, and introduce products tailored to the domestic digital medical environment through medical device certification by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in the future” he said.