Aussie sleeptech firm unveils breakthrough test

Written by PR Newswire

MELBOURNE, Australia, Feb. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Australian medical technology company Optalert has revealed a breakthrough test for sleep issues, expanding access to sleep health technologies for millions of Australians.

The simple test is conducted within 10 minutes on a smartphone, making it exceptionally accessible.

It relies on a unique biomarker discovered by Optalert – as people with sleep issues often receive less oxygen as they sleep, their eyelid coordination during waking hours is impaired.

Optalert's test uses the Apple iPhone's forward-facing camera to capture the subtle eyelid movements that result from this lack of coordination, using a proprietary algorithm to identify signs of sleep issues.

"Optalert's new test represents a step change in expanding access to sleep health technologies," said Optalert Chief Marketing Officer Paul Zubrinich.

"Our hope is that by putting accurate, accessible tools in the hands of Australians, we can make people far more aware of their sleep health, so they can enjoy a better night's rest and, in turn, a better quality of life."

Optalert's algorithm was developed with data from three leading sleep laboratories: Monash Medical Centre, the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, and the Institute for Breathing and Sleep (IBAS).

Development involved using the algorithm to test a group of people with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) confirmed by polysomnography (the gold standard in OSA diagnosis) and also test a control group with no identified sleep conditions.

Despite its speed and ease of use, Optalert's test achieved astonishing accuracy, with the underlying algorithm separating the groups with an accuracy of 96.6% (with a sensitivity of 84.0% and a specificity of 98.5%).

Current consumer-facing tests in smartwatches rely on interpreting a user's breathing across many nights, but with only 17.3% of Australians owning a compatible device and many of those being placed on a charger overnight, these tests remain inaccessible for most.

By building the test for the iPhone – a device owned by more than 50% of Australians – Optalert is making sleep health testing more accessible, while delivering greater accuracy in a shorter amount of time for the user.

Approximately one in five Australians are estimated to be affected by a major sleep disorder, with conditions estimated to cost $56.5 billion each year^[1] – making increased awareness of sleep health vital to the health of Australians and our economy.

Quote

"Wearable and app-based technologies are transforming how we approach sleep, and brain health more generally. These technologies provide continuous, personalised data that helps in identifying sleep issues, and thereby promote treatments of underlying conditions that affect the brain."

– Prof. Matthew Kiernan AM,CEO Neuroscience Research Australia

Enquiries

For enquiries, please contact Optalert CMO Paul Zubrinich:

Owl Eye can be downloaded for Apple iPhone from the App Store at the following link:https://apps.apple.com/au/app/owl-eye-sleep-test/id6569247951?pt=118003230&ct=press-releases&mt=8 ^[1]

About Optalert

Optalert was founded by renowned sleep researcher Dr. Murray Johns. It is the world's leading research team in the field of blepharometry, the study of eyelid movements. The firm holds multiple patents on the Johns Drowsiness Scale (JDS™), a proprietary biomarker that Harvard Medical School has deemed "commensurate with gold standard laboratory measures". It has also developed an algorithm that detects driver impairment due to intoxication. Optalert operates globally and has been commercially active in the fleet industry for over 16 years.

https://www.optalert.com/^[2]

^[1] Streatfeild J, Smith J, Mansfield D, Pezzullo L, Hillman D. The social and economic cost of sleep disorders. Sleep. 2021 Nov 12;44(11):zsab132. doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsab132. PMID: 34015136.