Diagnosing Obstructive Sleep Apnea Using Electromyography of the Muscles of the Mouth

Recruiting now

Conditions studied: Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), OSA, Healthy Volunteers, Electromyography

In brief

The investigators will establish how well a novel, quick, and painless way of measuring muscle activity from the mouth and throat works for detecting sleep apnea. This technology is called transmembraneous electromyography (tmEMG). Leveraging two technologies, a new probe capable of recording muscle activity by lightly touching the muscle, as well as a machine learning model for signal interpretation, the investigators will conduct an initial observational feasibility study in phase 1, followed by a larger observational cohort study in phase 2 to assess the performance of deep learning enhanced tmEMG. The study will address a critical unmet need in sleep apnea diagnostics: the availability of an inexpensive, accurate diagnostic test for screening at point of care.

Key facts

Study ID: NCT06944782
Run by: University of California, San Diego
People needed: 60
Starts: 2025-03-24
Expected to finish: 2025-09-01
Last updated by the study team: 2025-04-25

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 80. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

Age 18 years or older
Subject must have completed a prior sleep test.
Subjects may be recruited if the last prior sleep test either determined that they do not have sleep apnea OR they have moderate to severe sleep apnea. No sleep apnea is defined by AHI < 5; moderate to severe sleep apnea is defined by AHI >= 15.
To be fully eligible, the prior test result needs to be verified via 2-night home sleep test (using the average AHI from the 2 nights). If OSA status (i.e., AHI<5/h or >=15/h) from the 2-night HST vs last prior sleep test is discordant, then participants will be excluded as screen failures.

You may not qualify if…

Current use of OSA therapy, including PAP (positive airway pressure) or non-invasive ventilation on a daily basis
Prior uvulopalatopharyngoplasty surgery for sleep apnea.
Inability to install WatchPAT ONE application on smartphone or tablet or unwillingness/inability to use the WatchPAT ONE home sleep study device
Prisoners are excluded due to ethical, legal, and practical concerns
Individuals who are pregnant are excluded due to temporary changes in habitus, fluid shifts, and potential changes to oropharyngeal musculature may impact tmEMG assessment. This important subpopulation will be investigated in a later phase study.
Inability to stop tobacco, marijuana, or vaping on the day of testing.
Binge alcohol use behaviors (4+ drinks on the same occasion on 5+ days in the past month).
Medication use that may cause central apnea that in the judgment of the investigators could impact the safety or results of the study
Allergy to benzocaine topical anesthetic or other ester class local anesthetics (lidocaine, etc.)
Current psychiatric illness other than treated mood disorders
Unable or unwilling to provide informed consent or comply with research procedures
Active Cancer due to potential interference with study results
Major comorbidities which in the judgment of the investigators could impact the safety or results of the study
Inability to sign consent and participate in the study in English. This study involves use of an investigational device; the technical nature of the study and the consenting process and consent form make it impractical to include subjects who cannot participate in English.

Where it is running

University of California San Diego — San Diego, California, United States (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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