Testing Options
There are two types of tests used to diagnose sleep apnea. For years, the standard diagnostic tool has been a lab-based sleep study called a polysomnogram or PSG. New technologies have been developed that
Lab-based sleep study (Polysomnogram)
When you go to a sleep lab for a polysomnogram (PSG) test, you spend the night at the facility. Before you go to sleep, a technician will hook you up to a variety of wires that will
monitor different body and brain functions over the course of the night.allow patients to take a sleep test in their own homes.
PSG tests are necessary when the doctor needs more information on the patient’s brain activity over the course of the night. This information is necessary to make a diagnosis for sleep disorders, like narcolepsy and REM behavior disorder, which are unrelated to sleep disordered breathing.
Home based sleep study
When a patient has a snoring or sleep apnea problem, home-based sleep studies are often a more convenient way to evaluate the problem, especially if the doctor thinks you have sleep disordered breathing. The patient takes a testing device home and conducts the test in his or her own bed.
Home-based sleep studies always measure the oxygen level in the blood and the heart function through a pulse oximeter. Some devices measure additional body functions such as amount of airflow, amount of snoring and body position.
Some doctors prefer to use home-based tests because they feel that they get better information about their patients sleep problems because they are being tested in their own sleeping environment.
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