Sleep Review interviews Edward Pulwer, executive vice president and group president, respiratory care, VIASYS Healthcare Inc, Conshohocken, Pa.

Edward Pulwer

Through dedicated research and development, VIASYS Healthcare Inc, Conshohocken, Pa, continues to offer systems for diagnosing sleep-related disorders. Sleep Review spoke to Edward Pulwer, executive vice president and group president, respiratory care, VIASYS Healthcare, about VIASYS’ role in the sleep market and how research contributes to the company’s success.

SR What recent developments has VIASYS made in the sleep industry and how have these developments moved the industry forward?
Pulwer VIASYS has provided sleep technicians and physicians with advanced, state-of-the-art Flow Volume Loop Technology. This takes the guesswork out of scoring hypopneas and determining upper airway resistance, and aids in performing titration studies.

SR What makes VIASYS different from other manufacturers of sleep products?
Pulwer VIASYS offers state-of-the-art diagnostics capabilities, such as the flow volume loop measurement, with traditional sleep diagnostics. This unique approach has the potential to improve the clinical value of sleep diagnostics and greatly enhances precision in CPAP titration. Also, our extensive networking and database solutions can help busy sleep laboratories improve productivity.

SR How does research and development play into the VIASYS corporate strategy?
Pulwer Research and development is an important part of our overall strategy for sleep medicine. We believe that there is a significant opportunity for technological innovation in sleep diagnostics and therapy. Our clinical expertise and research and development resources in cardiopulmonary diagnostics, sleep medicine, and mechanical ventilation make us uniquely qualified to drive innovation in sleep medicine. Our SensorMedics and Jaeger brand names are well known, and our commitment to both clinical research and to technological development has allowed us to set a number of innovative “firsts” in the industry.

In addition, VIASYS NeuroCare offers a wide variety of diagnostic tools under the Nicolet brand name that specifically address neurologic aspects of sleep disorders, epilepsy, and other diseases. The combined research and development resources of VIASYS NeuroCare and VIASYS Respiratory Care and our commitment to the clinical community should allow us to offer our clinicians products and solutions with ever-increasing clinical and economic value. For example, the SomnoStar Pro Sleep System has been involved in providing data for many of the pharmacological studies currently in process at leading institutions in the United States and abroad.

SR What are the benefits of being involved in both the sleep and respiratory industries?
Pulwer The benefit VIASYS offers is our expertise with the lung. More than 90% of the patients who come into the sleep laboratory have OSA, which is a pulmonary problem. VIASYS companies have been involved in pulmonary medicine, sleep diagnostics, and mechanical ventilation for more than 50 years. We have an extensive field service, technical support, and a clinical education infrastructure to deploy in support of clinicians who rely on our products daily.

SR What can our readers expect from VIASYS in the future?
Pulwer VIASYS will continue to offer advanced tools to the sleep laboratory to help clinicians diagnose and treat their patients more effectively as well as increase productivity. Our customers can expect solutions targeted to improved workflow, connectivity, patient comfort, and greater clinical efficacy.