Diagnostic Sleep Studies

Overnight Attended Diagnostic PSG with in TcCO2 monitor in SleepWell Laboratory

The O2 SleepWell Laboratory, located within the welcoming and private setting of Cura Day Surgery, offers a professional and comprehensive overnight sleep study. This in-lab study, sometimes referred to as a Polysomnography (PSG), is attended by a trained sleep technologist and uses advanced equipment, including the compact Nox A1s recorder and the specialized Sentec tCOM+ monitor, to conduct a continuous and detailed assessment of your sleep health.

What Is It?

This is an overnight assessment requiring you to spend 8–12 hours in a comfortable, dedicated facility while your body’s functions are continuously measured and monitored by a professional sleep team.

Why Choose O2 SleepWell Laboratory in Cura?

The laboratory operates through a partnership between the O2 Lung Centre and Cura Day Surgery, ensuring high-quality professional testing within an environment designed for ultimate comfort and reassurance. The focus is on privacy and personalized attention, offering quiet, comfortable rooms, equipped with private toilets, to promote a natural night’s sleep. The entire process is overseen by highly trained technologists.

How Is It Different from a Home Sleep Study?

An in-lab study provides a significantly deeper and more comprehensive insight than standard home tests, which primarily focus on screening for common breathing issues. Key advantages include:

Full Monitoring Capability: The lab setting can capture and diagnose complex or non-respiratory sleep disorders.

Controlled Environment: The dedicated setting minimizes external disturbances, ensuring cleaner and more reliable data.

Real-Time Accuracy: A sleep technologist monitors the recordings continuously. This allows them to make immediate sensor adjustments to ensure data accuracy and enables early intervention if a severe breathing issue is observed. This sensitivity is crucial for detecting milder sleep breathing disorders, especially in women or patients dealing with insomnia.

What Does It Test For?

This advanced study can diagnose a wide range of conditions beyond basic breathing pauses (like obstructive and central sleep apnea). It is designed to identify non-respiratory sleep disorders such as narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome, periodic limb movement disorder, parasomnias (like sleepwalking), and issues related to insomnia.

What Does the Use of Sentec tCOM+ Add to the Test?

The Sentec tCOM+ is a specialized piece of equipment that provides continuous, non-invasive monitoring of ventilation and oxygenation. While the Nox A1s records breathing movement and standard oxygen levels in the blood, the Sentec tCOM+ measures the levels of Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen gases directly through the skin (often on the earlobe or forehead). This is achieved by gently warming the skin beneath the sensor site to achieve very accurate readings of these vital body gases, offering crucial data points about how effectively your body is ventilating while you sleep.

How Is the Test Conducted?

The test requires an overnight stay in a private room. Upon arrival, a sleep technologist will apply various sensors and wires to your body, including the lightweight Nox A1s recorder and the small Sentec tCOM+ sensor. These instruments track multiple signals simultaneously, such as brain waves, muscle activity, heart function, and breathing efforts (using the Nox A1s' specialized belts). Once the setup is complete, you simply relax and sleep naturally while the data is collected. The next morning, the sensors are removed, and you are free to leave.

How Will the Extra Data Be Useful to the Doctor?

The comprehensive recordings provide detailed information on breathing, heart activity, brain waves, and muscle movements. The extra data captured by the Sentec tCOM+, specifically the precise levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen in your body gases, helps your doctor accurately assess ventilation effectiveness. This highly accurate and detailed picture allows for a definitive diagnosis of the cause of your poor sleep, leading to a specialist review and personalized recommendations for effective treatment.