Delivery System to Increase Adherence to Myofunctional Therapy Protocol

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Project Summary/Abstract The proposed project focuses on creating a delivery method for myofunctional therapy that is designed to increase user engagement and adherence to the therapy protocol. Significance: Sleep apnea affects 22 million people in the U.S. and 80% of the individuals who suffer from moderate or Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea have not received diagnosis or treatment. The economic impact of untreated sleep apnea is nearly $150 billion. Common treatments such as CPAP devices, dental appliances, and surgical interventions are expensive, uncomfortable, or invasive, resulting in large number of untreated individuals even when there is a proper diagnosis. Myofunctional therapies have been proven to be an effective co-therapy to improve existing treatments for sleep apnea and an effective alternative method for treating sleep apnea when uncomfortable devices or invasive procedures are not tolerated by the patient. However, access to myofunctional therapy is limited to guided therapy sessions by specialists and the adherence to the myofunctional therapy protocol in an unguided setting can be difficult. Healthcare systems are increasingly delivering therapies through smartphone applications in order to improve access and adherence. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that myofunctional therapies can be delivered through an interactive smartphone application with reasonable adherence rates. Specific Aims: To prove feasibility of the proposed system in Phase I, IDL and its collaborators will: (1) Develop a gamified myofunctional therapy protocol effective for OSA treatment (2) Develop an interactive therapy delivery system and (3) Test the adherence to the protocol while using the developed system.