Detecting sleep apnea using smartphones. Apneal, an app developed by a start-up created in 2021, is not a gadget and can also help solve a serious public health problem. This sleep disorder that causes respiratory pauses that lead to a decrease in blood oxygenation is the source of increased risks of many pathologies: cardiovascular diseases, strokes, diabetes, cognitive disorders, not to mention road accidents. “Sleep apnea, after cancer, diabetes and coronary heart disease, is the pathology that has the strongest medical-economic impact in Western societies,” affirmed company co-founder and CEO Severin Benizri.
And yet sleep apnea is little known. If 936 million people worldwide suffer from it (according to a study published in The Lancet in 2019), 80% of these cases are unknown. In fact, the most common test to diagnose this disorder, respiratory polygraphy, is done at home, but requires the patient to be fitted overnight with sensors to record their movements, heart rate, breathing and blood oxygen levels. As a result, the exam requires heavy logistics and imposes significant waiting times.
