Digital technologies to aid the scoring and interpretation of diagnostic sleep studies for obstructive sleep apnoea and rare sleep disorders

Status:

In progress

Technology type:

Diagnostic

Decision:

Selected

Prioritisation programme:

HealthTech

Rationale:

Anticipate the topic will be of importance to patients, carers, professionals, commissioners and the health of the public to ensure clinical benefit is realised, inequalities in use addressed, and help them make the best use of NHS resources

Description:

Sleep disorders affect the quality, timing and duration of sleep and are increasingly prevalent in the UK. They are associated with impaired daytime functioning, reduced quality of life and increased morbidity. Within the NHS, there are substantial waiting lists across the diagnosis and management pathway for sleep disorders. Sleep disorders vary in their prevalence, presentation and severity. Insomnia and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) are the most common conditions. Insomnia is primarily diagnosed based on clinical history and reported symptoms, whereas OSA is typically confirmed using diagnostic testing. Less common conditions include rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder, narcolepsy, restless leg syndrome and central sleep apnoea, which are generally diagnosed using specialist tests. Polysomnography, also known as sleep study, is the gold-standard test for diagnosing complex and rare sleep disorders, and is also used when home sleep tests for OSA are inconclusive. Manual scoring and interpretation of sleep study data usually take up to 2 hours per study and are resource intensive, with potential variation between scorers. Digital technologies can automate the preliminary scoring of sleep studies, with outputs reviewed and finalised by a clinician. The integration of digitally supported analysis has the potential to improve workflow efficiency, reduce inter-scorer variability, and enhance diagnostic accuracy. In this assessment, NICE will evaluate digital technologies to aid the scoring and interpretation of diagnostic sleep studies. It will review the available evidence and assess the potential clinical and cost-effectiveness of the technologies, as well as identify evidence gaps to help direct evidence generation.

Stakeholders

External assessment group

York Health Economics Consortium (YHEC)

Timeline

Key events during the development of the guidance:

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