Sleepnea LLC is a medical technology company that is developing innovative technologies and devices to create new options for treating Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).   Sleepnea has a growing intellectual property portfolio that currently comprises eight pending patents for devices and methods to treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea.  This portfolio includes innovative patent-pending mask technologies that can be used to create masks that are more comfortable, fit better, and leak less than currently-available masks.  Such masks have the potential to improve patient compliance and reduce the adverse health effects of OSA.  Sleepnea's intellectual property portfolio also includes novel, non-surgical, non-neurostimulation devices and methods for keeping the tongue from obstructing the airway during sleep.   Sleepnea is located in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, which is the home of LifeScience Alley and one of the largest and most dynamic medical technology communities in the world.

The Sleepnea team includes: the founder and medical director of a multi-campus Sleep Center who is a Board-Certified Sleep Medicine Specialist; a university professor with many years of experience teaching in the areas of new product development and medical technology, who served on the Health Care Technology Decision Sciences Study Section of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and who has been the Principal Investigator on competitive federally-funded research grants; and  a medical engineer with a doctorate from MIT, supported by the resources of a leading medical engineering and prototyping firm. 

Sleepnea's products are not yet approved by the FDA nor available for patient care.  Sleepnea has submitted a Phase I SBIR grant to the NIH to fund prototyping and benchtesting two of Sleepnea's mask-related technologies for treating OSA. 

The first of Sleepnea's mask designs to be prototyped and tested is the "Adjustable-Contour Mask."   The Adjustble-Contour Mask allows the patient to custom fit the mask to their face in an engaging and versatile manner that is not possible with currently-available masks.  This mask features an innovative and engaging user interface that controls differentially-adjustable members that actively change the face-contacting contour of the mask.  Research milestones for the Adjustable-Contour Mask include 50% reduction in mask leakage and facial pressure variation, as compared to currently-available sleep apnea masks. 

The second of Sleepnea's mask designs to be prototyped and tested is the "Fabric-Channel Mask."   The Fabric Channel Mask has multiple, redundant air channels integrated into soft fabric for greater comfort and reduced leaks.  The multiple, redundant air channels integrated into soft fabric have the potential to maintain airflow over a wide range of head-pillow positions in a manner that is not possible with traditional apnea masks that only have a single, relatively-rigid, air channel.  Research milestones for the Fabric-Channel Mask include maintenance of therapeutic values of air pressure and flow and 50% reduction in mask leakage and facial pressure variation, across different head positions, as compared to currently-available sleep apnea masks.