Abstract

Sleep apnea is a disorder characterized by the repeated collapse of the pharynx. The site of the pharyngeal collapse (e.g. soft palate, tongue, lateral walls, epiglottis) is an important biomarker in determining success to non-PAP alternative therapies that are site-specific (e.g. hypoglossal nerve stimulation, oral appliances). This talk will outline the gold-standard technique for characterizing site of pharyngeal collapse from endoscopic videos during sleep, describe non-invasive techniques for estimating the site of pharyngeal collapse from airflow, and demonstrate its utility in predicting treatment response to hypoglossal nerve stimulation therapy

Biography

Completed a PhD from the University of Toronto under supervision from Dr. Azadeh Yadollahi studying the pathogenesis of OSA from fluid shift. In 2018 I underwent a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School in the Sleep Disordered Breathing Lab under supervision of Dr. Andrew Wellman, where I focused on developing PSG airflow-derived estimates of the pathophysiological traits of OSA, such as pharyngeal collapsibility and site of collapse, and applying them to the prediction of treatment response to non-PAP alternative such as mandibular advancement devices and hypoglossal nerve stimulation. In 2021 I took a faculty position at the Harvard Medical School where I am continuing on this line of investigation.