Important Note
If symptoms persist while on CPAP therapy, talk to your health professional.
Always read the instructions for use for your CPAP therapy equipment to ensure it is used safely and as intended
The sleep study is entirely covered by Medicare if the pretest questionnaire requirements are met.
Your sleep study appointment fee can vary. Air Liquide Healthcare clinics charge $49 and this fee is not covered by Medicare. We kindly request 48 hours notice if you need to reschedule your appointment.
A conditional licence may be considered by the driver licensing authority subject to periodic review. Taking into account the nature of the driving task and information provided by the treating doctor as to whether the following criteria are met: the person is compliant with treatment and the response to treatment is satisfactory. Patients should be made aware of the effects of their condition on driving and should be advised of their legal obligation to notify the driver licensing authority where driving is likely to be affected. The health professional may themselves advise the driver licensing authority as the situation requires. The responsibility for issuing, renewing, suspending or cancelling, or reinstating a person’s driver licence (including a conditional licence) lies ultimately with the driver licensing authority.1
You may be required to redo the study depending on the quality of data before the lead fell off, and the amount of time that the lead was off.
Your alcohol consumption behaviour should not change. The purpose of the home based sleep study is to collect data as close to normal as possible. Alcohol affects nighttime breathing and it is best for us to be able to measure your sleep in its most vulnerable state to determine how it is disturbed. Be mindful that you should not drink and drive to retrieve the equipment at any of our clinics.
Run the Somfit®App.
From the Somfit App Home screen, press the ‘Start Study’ button to start a new study.
After Somfit completes pre-checks, the recording screen will appear.
Do not open other Apps and avoid using your phone after you start the study.
You can lock the phone screen, but do not put the phone in aeroplane mode.
Ensure phone is charging on your bedside table.
When you wake simply, press the ‘END STUDY’ button.
Confirm you wish to the end study by clicking ‘Yes’.
Data upload will automatically occur.
No. The sleep study device is silent.
Yes, you can sleep on your left, right, front and back. Our goal is to collect the best data we can about you while you sleep. To do this, we will want to see you sleep in your usual positions.
Cleaning is a crucial step in preparing the skin site for the electrode pad. If the skin site is not prepared well, the signal may be weak or not seen at all and result in an incomplete study. The sleep study will have to be redone if our sleep study team cannot accurately measure the signals coming from all parts of your body.
Home sleep studies are very accurate because the sleep study device measures various biometric data points which are then sent to our team of independant Sleep Physicians to analyse. Even if you sleep for only a few hours we will be able to gather a sufficient amount of information. It only takes a few hours of sleep for a breathing disturbance such as apnea to be detected, even with less restful sleep.
As of 1 Nov 2018, any patient wishing to have a home sleep study done will need to complete a series of questionnaires with their physician. The scores of those questionnaires will determine if Medicare will fund the study or not. If the study is not Medicare funded the patient can choose to pay for the sleep study privately.
A single green light blinking every 10 seconds means your device is ready to record.
It is normal for the indicator light on both the Somfit® and Respifit® to be turned off during recording.
No you don’t. Your General Practitioner can refer you for a sleep study. You can complete our online referral form here then take it to your GP.
Once set up for the study, a minimum of 9 hours wearing time is recommended. This is to obtain as much data as possible and to fullfill Medicare requirements. You do not need to be asleep for the 9 hours, but you do need to be wearing the device with everything attached to your body for this period of time.
No, a full night’s sleep isn’t required to obtain accurate sleep study results. It only takes a few hours of sleep for a breathing disturbance such as apnea to be detected, even with less restful sleep.
You can call our Customer Contact Centre on 1300 36 02 02 to speak to one of Customer Service Representatives during operating hours Mon – Fri 9:00am – 5:00pm (AEST). Alternatively, you can utilise the instructional videos on our website, or call the clinic that you collected the home based sleep study kit from for assistance.
According to Medicare Item 12203, in order to complete a sleep study in a lab, you must be assessed by a qualified sleep medicine practitioner or consultant respiratory physician to determine why a lab study is required over a home sleep study.3
Our home sleep study measures; total sleep time, sleep latency, sleep stages, arousals, snoring, body position, heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, apnea hypopnea index and breathing patterns. These results will give us an indication of how many times per hour your airway is restricted throughout the night, and a measure of how severe these events were when they occur.
You are only required to use wear the sleep study device for 1 night and return it the following morning. Please note that if you are doing the study over a weekend you must wear the device for the night that you have been instructed to do so. The device has been programmed to record for one night only, and if you wear it on a different night from that instructed, the study will fail.
If you intend on taking a shower on the night of your sleep study, make sure you do so at least one hour before you apply the equipment so your skin has enough time to dry thoroughly. Do not apply lotion or oils to the skin where the electrodes are to be attached. Make sure the location where you apply the electrode is cleaned well with the alcohol wipe and prep pad provided.
You should receive your sleep study report about 3 – 4 weeks after returning your device. In some instances this may be longer due to unforseen circumstances but we will communicate if a different timeline may be expected.
Our independant Sleep Physicians will provide a non biased sleep report which includes a diagnosis and recommendation. A consultation with a Sleep Physician may be included in the report as a recommendation. Even if this is not a recommendation in your sleep report, you are welcome to seek further advice from your General Practicitioner or Sleep Physician.
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