Signifier Medical Technologies’s eXciteOSA, the first and only daytime intraoral neuromuscular stimulation device for treating mild obstructive sleep apnea and snoring, has received the GOOD DESIGN Award in the Medical category. The device was recently approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration.
“We are honored to accept this recognition for eXciteOSA, which provides people who suffer from sleep-disordered breathing a new treatment option—the first major innovation for the treatment of sleep apnea since the invention of the continuous positive airway pressure machine nearly 40 years ago,” says Akhil Tripathi, CEO and co-founder of Signifier Medical Technologies, in a release. “As a daytime treatment, the device was specifically designed to be compact and mobile. Paired with the eXciteOSA smartphone or tablet application, the device allows patients to use it freely while tracking progress and results wherever they go. This award further demonstrates the value of eXciteOSA as a proven, transformative treatment for patients with a design optimized for ease of use and high functionality.”
The GOOD DESIGN award is presented by The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. Each year since 1950, The Chicago Athenaeum presents the award to industrial, product, and graphic designs produced around the world. With 30 award categories across various industries, the GOOD DESIGN Award was founded to create an awareness of contemporary design and to honor both products and industry leaders in design and manufacturing that have chartered new directions for innovation and pushed the envelope for competitive products in the world marketplace.
Unlike devices used while patients sleep, eXciteOSA is the first device used while awake that is intended to improve tongue muscle function, targeting the root causes of these conditions. Used for 20 minutes per day for a period of six weeks and then twice per week, the therapy is clinically proven to improve the quality of sleep by significantly reducing obstructive sleep apnea and snoring.
Signifier Medical Technologies has developed a digital OSA therapy interface for patients and clinicians, which includes an app for use alongside the eXciteOSA device. The app is designed to give personalized care and motivate patients to achieve high therapy adherence. A “light touch design” with no fitting required, the eXciteOSA system includes digital connectivity between patient, bed partner and provider to enable virtual setup and remote monitoring.
