A Scottish medical tech company has pulled over US$860,000 together to kick off a major study on its AI-powered medical software device. It is used for analyzing nighttime data among youth plagued by sleep apnea.
Seluna announced the launch of its 500-person investigation in a press release on Thursday. The multi-site study will be ongoing until the end of the year in partnership with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde along with Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children.
“This is our Phase I study and that will lead to multiple further trials throughout the UK and the United States as we move toward commercialization,” said CEO Scott Black, “and FDA and UK approval.”
Seluna’s certified Software as a Medical Device works by using a series of machine learning algorithms to automate sleep data interpretation and subsequently diagnose obstructive sleep apnea. These AI models are trained using vast datasets comprised of multiple sleep study records with anonymous participants.
It assesses data obtained from polysomnography (PSG) studies to provide insights on brain wave activity, oxygen levels, breath fluctuations, heart rate and rate of movement among kids during their sleep cycle.
Polysomnography. Photo credit: Seluna
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Millions of kids suffer from sleep apnea
Sleep apnea impacts 1 to 5 per cent of children, particularly those who are obese or have craniofacial abnormalities. It is most common between the ages of two and eight.
The disease causes breathing to stop and start several times and can result in a variety of unpleasant symptoms among youth. These include loud snoring, gasping, restlessness, bedwetting and fatigue throughout the night and behavioural problems or headaches during the day.
According to Seluna, about 96 million kids are affected by it throughout the world and eight out of 10 remain undiagnosed.
Seluna’s technology is advantageous for diagnosing sleep apnea because of its speed enabled by the usage of AI. Traditional PSG analysis involves manual scoring by trained specialists for each patient, which can be highly time consuming.
Most notably, it is the only sleep apnea diagnostics software specifically tailored for children. Their sleep patterns differ from adults significantly. The ongoing study should help Seluna expand its clinical reach outside of Scotland and make life easier for youngsters.
The company’s Chief Technical Officer and co-founder, Yola Jones, is heading to Singapore next month with a cohort of other Scottish tech leaders through a government-funded initiative. They will be promoting their technologies at a local startup event.
The Techscaler Singapore Cohort 2 Programme enables Scottish technology innovators to network with global leaders, meet potential investors and much more.
From left to right: Seluna co-founder Yola Jones; NHS paediatric consultant Ruth Hamilton; Seluna CEO Scott Black; NHS paediatric consultant Haytham Kubba; and Seluna Commercial Direct Innes Taylor. Photo credit: Martin Shields via Seluna
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