Overview
Sleep disorders need to be diagnosed using an overnight sleep study. All sleep studies require a prescription from the patient's physician.
While Holy Name's Center for Sleep Medicine offers hotel-like accommodations, some prefer to have the sleep study done in their own home. Holy Name offers several at-home testing devices for eligible patients. The non-invasive testing equipment is simple to use and rarely interferes with sleep.
The home testing devices, as well as the sensors used in the Sleep Center's studies, monitor the patient's heart rate, respiration, leg and eye movements, brain waves and oxygen circulation through the night.
WatchPat
One of the testing devices is the WatchPAT, a three-prong system that patients wear for one night in the comfort of their home. It includes a round sensor, about the size of a half-dollar, which attaches to the chest. A watch is strapped to the non-dominant hand and a finger from the same hand is placed in a finger sensor.
Patients meet with a member of the sleep study team to learn how to use the device the day of the study. They test that night and return the device the next day. Results are evaluated at the Center and the sleep medicine physician sends the results and consults with the patient's doctor in a timely manner.
