CNN: X-trodes sleep tracker raised $4.5 million in funding in October 2021, and is now pursuing approval for the technology from the US Food and Drug Administration. If that goes well, the company hopes to start selling the device to sleep clinics in 2023.
Founded in 2020, the company has developed a sleep tracker fitted with tiny sensors that sticks to the skin like a band-aid and can be used at home.
While at-home sleep tests for sleep apnea are relatively common, they typically only measure breathing patterns. X-trodes’ sleep tracker sensors pick up electrical activity in the body while you sleep, including muscle activity, eye movement and brain waves — data you can currently only get in a clinic, according to the company.
“What we have developed at X-trodes are comfortable, soft, flexible, dry electrodes,” says co-founder and CEO, Ziv Peremen, adding that unlike a typical clinical test, the tracker is wireless, so “you can sleep in whatever position you like.”The tracker sends the data to a smart device. X-trodes’ software analyzes it and generates a report, which doctors can use to investigate the patient’s sleep problem.
The device can also make sleep testing cheaper, Peremen says. The cost of a basic in-lab sleep study in the United States starts from around $5,300, according to non-profit FAIR Health, which publishes healthcare claim prices. By removing the need for a technician and overnight stay, X-trodes’ solution will cost around a tenth of the price, Peremen tells CNN Business.A home test can also lead to more accurate results than one in a clinic, according to Peremen. “You can take into consideration all the other factors — sometimes it’s your partner, sometimes it’s room temperature, external noise and so on.”
