Wesper

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
Gfox
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Wesper

Post by Gfox » Fri Sep 15, 2023 1:09 pm

Hi all –
Has anybody used the Wesper service? I am curious on whether there is interest discussing the pros and cons of their service for longitudinal study of the efficacy of sleep therapy. I have just started using their service two days ago (monthly fee of $75) because I felt that the usual sleep trackers (Oura, Apple Watch, Fitbit etc.) didn’t give me (good) enough data to evaluate my sleep quality. The idea of essentially having a HST done every night to gauge different changes in therapy in addition to just using the Oscar data was intriguing to me since it’s independent of CPAP use. Other therapy methods like MAD, positional therapy etc. can be evaluated as well. Not sure how long I’ll be using their service but happy to discuss this more (e.g., data available, ease of use, insights etc.) as I’ll be using the service at least over the next few weeks.
First impressions after two uses:
1. Super simple to wear and use (does not impact my sleep in the slightest as those three sensors are not intrusive at all).
2. The app itself gives only “limited” insights that I do not find that helpful, but you can click through different sub menus to see more details.
3. The website has more “proper” sleep reports with an option to analyze the full night in great detail (similar to what you would have with Oscar)

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chunkyfrog
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Re: Wesper

Post by chunkyfrog » Fri Sep 15, 2023 2:35 pm

Yikes!
That is almost as much as my internet!

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Tec5
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Re: Wesper

Post by Tec5 » Fri Sep 15, 2023 2:49 pm

Gfox wrote:
Fri Sep 15, 2023 1:09 pm
I have just started using their service two days ago because I felt that the usual sleep trackers (Oura, Apple Watch, Fitbit etc.) didn’t give me (good) enough data to evaluate my sleep quality.
Is the sensor technology some how different from Apple/Fitbit etc?
If so, what sensors are used to plot airflow (as an example)?
I am neither a physician nor a lawyer, so DO NOT rely on me for professional medical or legal advice.

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ChicagoGranny
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Re: Wesper

Post by ChicagoGranny » Fri Sep 15, 2023 3:23 pm

Did they drop the prescription requirement?
THE WESPER SLEEP LAB IS A PRESCRIPTION MEDICAL DEVICE

https://wesper.co/pages/provider-terms- ... 20DUE%20TO

Gfox
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Re: Wesper

Post by Gfox » Fri Sep 15, 2023 4:09 pm

Yes, expensive, if you continuously use it, but compared to individual sleep studies, cheap. I plan on using it for 1 or maybe 2 months, with the hope of figuring out a few things around my sleep issues.
I see this as a continuous sleep study test at HST level. They are FDA-approved for HST level 3 and for the longitudinal sleep analysis (they call that product "Sleep Wellness Program"). The latter is what I technically signed up for and this does not require a prescription.
At that level it does not provide any diagnosis, just the data and sleep reports, which is fine with me.

Three sensors provide O2, body position, breathing rates, sleep stages, heart rates, movements, type of events, AHI, CAI, RDI etc. They claim to be "clinically accurate" matching a PSG with 95.6% correlation.

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Tec5
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Re: Wesper

Post by Tec5 » Fri Sep 15, 2023 6:12 pm

Gfox wrote:
Fri Sep 15, 2023 4:09 pm
Three sensors provide O2, body position, breathing rates, sleep stages, heart rates, movements, type of events, AHI, CAI, RDI etc. They claim to be "clinically accurate" matching a PSG with 95.6% correlation.
What you’ve listed are the outputs. I’m asking is if the sensors (for example tri axis accelerometer, LED emitter and detector) are different from that used with common watches.
I am neither a physician nor a lawyer, so DO NOT rely on me for professional medical or legal advice.

Gfox
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Re: Wesper

Post by Gfox » Fri Sep 15, 2023 7:05 pm

They don't discuss too many details about their sensors. But airflow is indirectly measured using respiratory
effort signals as outlined in this FDA document:
https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cdrh_doc ... 203343.pdf

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Tec5
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Re: Wesper

Post by Tec5 » Fri Sep 15, 2023 9:04 pm

Gfox wrote:
Fri Sep 15, 2023 7:05 pm
They don't discuss too many details about their sensors. But airflow is indirectly measured using respiratory
effort signals as outlined in this FDA document:
https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cdrh_doc ... 203343.pdf
For airflow:
As best as I can make out, there are two disposable adhesive strain gages (one placed on the thorax and one on the abdomen) when these gages are stretched they change in resistance in proportion to the amount of stretching. From this signal it is deduced that the thorax or abdomen is expanding (or contracting). From this, it is further inferred that air "must" be filling the void in the chest/lungs.
While measurement of thorax expansion is used in PSG testing (RIP belts), as far as I know it is only used to measure respiratory effort. Airflow is measured by other sensors, and compared with respiratory effort. If respiratory effort is detected in absence air flow that is indication of an obstructive apnea. If there is no effort, and no air flow that would suggest apnea of central origin. (of course it not quite that simple, many other factors for the PSG tech to weigh, but that's the principle criteria)

I'm skeptical about building inferences from suggestive deductions.
I am neither a physician nor a lawyer, so DO NOT rely on me for professional medical or legal advice.

ifsmithy
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Re: Wesper

Post by ifsmithy » Sun Nov 19, 2023 7:50 pm

Im now 6 nights in on using it - anyone else?
I'm pretty impressed so far - confirmed to me my apnea (as diagnosed from a watch pat one) is positional - have a pretty good repeatable baseline on control nights and then versus nights with no back sleeping.

Now I'm trying no back sleeping with cpap to see how low I can get events.

Will be reviewing with sleep physician and doing a side by side with at home test from the clinic.

Happy to share more if any interest.

My apple watch still tells me my sleep is great.....that thing has been lying to me for years!

gromitbeast
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Re: Wesper

Post by gromitbeast » Mon Dec 11, 2023 1:54 pm

Hi everyone,
I'm new here but this thread is highly interesting to me. A bit of background:
  • Diagnosed with Apnea in March 2023 (via SleepDoctor.com and WatchPatOne). Moderate pAHI 20.5.
    Used my phone (SnoreLab) to try some therapies (Bongo, Pillow, MAD, etc). Seemed unsuccessful.
    Working with a doctor now to try out CPAP. Just figured out how to use Oscar.
I'm going to use that CPAP a bit and would like to see how an independent device judges the Apnea improvement. I'm also interested in retrying the alternative therapies using a more quantitative measure. I found this article as a review of some existing options for HST's (https://sleepreviewmag.com/sleep-diagno ... ces-guide/).
As far as I can tell, the only devices we non-clinical folks can get are: I am curious how the Wesper worked for you all. Also curious if anyone knows of other options that might not require a subscription. I don't mind laying out a bit of money for equipment upfront, but I hate paying subscription fees. I don't need a perfect device but something to give me a decent indication of how my apnea responds to some behavioral and therapy options.

Cheers.

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ChicagoGranny
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Re: Wesper

Post by ChicagoGranny » Mon Dec 11, 2023 3:40 pm

gromitbeast wrote:
Mon Dec 11, 2023 1:54 pm
how my apnea responds to some behavioral and therapy options.
The members of this forum are dedicated to using and advising on the gold standard treatment. That's CPAP. People rarely find much help here for their wild goose chases. :mrgreen: