The X-factor: A smart solution for sleep apnoea

Ziv Peremen, CEO, X-trodes, explains the thinking behind the product and the trends that led them there.

Tell us about what made you develop X-trodes.

We developed our Smart Skin solution having recognised that, with the general trend towards homecare, there was clear need to bring medical-grade monitoring capabilities into the comfort of patients’ homes.

The technology was developed following more than a decade’s research at the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at Tel Aviv university by Prof. Yael Hanein. Her academic publications drew widespread interest from researchers and entrepreneurs looking to utilise it for research in various disciplines or to develop different types of products. This led us to realise the potential for such a disruptive technology in simplifying the use of traditional electrophysiology and opening new possibilities that are not currently available due to confinement to a laboratory setup. 

As a sensor, Smart Skin was only the foundation. Developing an end-to-end solution that supports the idea of seamless electrophysiological monitoring in a natural environment is an endeavour beyond the scope of academia. For me, it addresses an important need of bridging a gap of thousands of academic studies in this field, often poorly translated, into applicative products for daily use. Once I saw the potential for a DeepTech solution to bridge this gap I was fascinated by the chance to lead a paradigm shift in this field.

What’s different about this piece of technology that allows it to monitor multiple sleep disorders? 

Other solutions for electrophysiology currently on the market tend to be rigid and cumbersome, need gel or adhesive to attach to the body, and require a trained technician or expert to administer and adjust the devices. Traditionally, sleep disorders are diagnosed in sleep laboratories, which are often not conducive for encouraging good sleep. Meanwhile, other wearable technologies are based on accelerometers, thermometers, and heart rate monitors that provide indirect and, therefore, often inaccurate correlations to direct monitoring of brainwaves.

X-trodes’ technology is the first to allow a full stage sleep analysis by monitoring patients’ brainwaves in their own homes. The Smart Skin’s dry printed electrodes conform to any part of the body to capture accurate signal readings, providing a more cost-effective solution for multi-night measurements than those offered by traditional sleep labs. Unlike alternative at-home solutions, that generally focus solely on sleep apnoea, X-trodes’ medical-grade technology can provide insights for additional sleep disorders, including narcolepsy, bruxism, RBD, insomnia and restless leg syndrome.

How did you go about developing this technology? 

First, we demonstrated the feasibility of the new materials and the contact of our Smart Skin technology with the human body. This took several years in a long development cycle of testing new materials, compounds, and manufacturing process until we found the right combination of sensor that is dry, soft, flexible, and able to maintain high-quality signal acquisition while attached to a human body.

Next, we developed the necessary electronics that could integrate five different signals (EEG, EMG, ECG, EOG and IMU) on a micro system. We initially tried to use existing devices but found they could not meet the accuracy required for our purposes. This led to us building an entirely new device designed specifically for this purpose – collecting high quality signal across five modalities that is smaller than a pair of EarPods and weighing less than 20 grams.

We then developed an analytics layer that could take the signals that the system acquires when we measure in a normal environment and extract the excess background noise to identify the meaningful physiology information needed for the clinical uses.

The final stage involved understanding our users and to optimise the system for ease of use and to best suit their requirements. We have provided a medical-grade solution, but are also aiming to provide a consumer experience that is seamless, easy to operate and an enjoyable experience for our users.

Who did you work with to bring this product to life? 

We have been working with leading companies in the fields of printing and adhesives, as well as sleep monitoring and analytics. We also work with leading hospitals and research centres in Israel and the United States. We have been able to set up an advisory board of internationally recognised experts committed to helping us bring this mission to life.

Which regulatory processes has this been through?

Our technology complies with all the safety requirements to pass an Institutional Review Board (IRB) for research purposes. We are currently in the process of submitting the technology for 510(k) clearance with the FDA. 

Anything else that you would like to add?  

Our long-term vision is to become an electrophysiological data company. To that end, we are building an infostructure to gather electrophysiological data in an unprecedented way, by enabling big-data analysis that can gain insights into a vast range physiological conditions that can help to improve people’s overall health and quality of life.