Sleep disorder device manufacturer and developer Oventus Medical Ltd. (ASX: OVN) is pleased to announce the formation of the company?s Australian Scientific Advisory Committee.
The committee will aim to meet as a group twice a year and will be consulted at various times throughout the course of a product?s development cycle in preparation for clinical trialling.
The initial members are all leaders in their respective fields including Emeritus Professor Bill Coman (ENT specialist), Professor Peter Eastwood (Sleep Research). Associate Professor Jeremy Goldin (Respiratory & Sleep Specialist) and Dr Karen McCloy (Sleep Dentistry).
Dr Chris Hart BSc. BDSc.(Hons) M.Phil.(Cantab), Oventus Medical founder and Clinical Director said ?The O2VentTM appliances represent a leap forward in the way patients with sleep apnoea and snoring are treated. Clinical trials will provide us with insights into the effectiveness of the appliances and benefit the design of future appliances in the O2Vent range.?
Dr Hart added: ?The airway is the platform for which all our devices are designed and is attracting interest from multiple disciplines in the sleep medicine field. In addition, we believe that Obstructive Sleep Apnoea is a serious medical condition and requires a multidisciplinary approach to patient management. We look forward to working closely with our Scientific Advisory Committee so that our devices are designed and delivered to achieve maximum patient benefit.?
Biographies of the four initial members:
- William Coman is currently Emeritus Professor, University of Queensland and held the position of Chairman/Director ? Division of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Queensland and the Princess Alexandra Hospital from 1974 ? 2011. He has published over 50 peer review articles, book chapters and has lectured at over 70 national and international meetings, conferences and courses. Professor Coman is currently the Chairman and Trustee of the Garnett Passe Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation. During his career he has received many awards and honours including: Membership to the Order of Australia (2005) for services to medical research in the field of Head and Neck Surgery, the ESR Hughes Award (2009), William Harkin Medal (2011), Vellar Memorial Lecture Medal (2011), Honorary Fellowship to the Royal College of Surgeons, England (2012), Honorary Fellowship to the American College of Surgeons (2015). Professor Coman continues to contribute to the academic and wider community.
- Professor Peter Eastwood BSc PhD is Director of the Centre for Sleep Research at the University of Western Australia, and NH&MRC Senior Research Fellow at the West Australian Sleep Disorders Research Institute. He has a longstanding interest in understanding upper airway physiology and has published over 140 peer reviewed articles, invited reviews and book chapters. As well as developing innovative teaching programs in sleep science and dental sleep medicine, he has supervised 19 postgraduate and 29 Honours students. His past and current professional contributions include membership to professional societies, committees and panels including NH&MRC, he is currently the Deputy Director of the Institute for Respiratory Health and Editor-In-Chief of the journal Respirology, the major respiratory medicine journal of the Asian Pacific Region.
- Associate Professor Jeremy Goldin MBBS FRACP is a graduate of Monash University and completed his FRACP at the Alfred and Western Hospitals. He is the Head of Sleep Medicine at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Director of the Sleep Laboratory at Western Private Hospital. He has multiple research interests including sleep apnoea and respiratory physiology. He is the Past President of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (Victorian Branch) and sits on the national clinical committee of the Australasian Sleep Association.
- Dr Karen McCloy BDSc MS hold Masters of Science in Dental Research as well as in Sleep Medicine. She is a Diplomat of the American Board of Orofacial Pain based in Brisbane and has held an Adjunct Faculty Position at the Craniofacial Pain Centre, Tufts University Boston. With over 30 years? experience in dentistry, and a keen interest in oro-facial pain and sleep disorders, Karen has been an invited lecturer at a number of national and international conferences. She is past president of the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain (Australian Chapter), a Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain and is a member of a number of professional associations representing Orofacial Pain and Sleep Medicine.
About Oventus
Oventus is a Brisbane based medical device company that is commercialising a suite of oral appliances for the treatment of sleep apnoea and snoring. Unlike other oral appliances, the Oventus devices have a unique and patented airway within the device that delivers air to the back of the mouth bypassing multiple obstructions from the nose, soft palate and tongue. They are particularly designed for the many people that have nasal obstructions and consequently tend to mainly breathe through their mouth. While it may seem counterintuitive, the device actually prevents oral breathing. The O2Vent is designed to allow nasal breathing when the nose is unobstructed, but when obstruction is present, breathing is supplemented via the airways in the appliance.
According to a report published by the Sleep Health Foundation Australia, an estimated 1.5 million Australians suffer with sleep disorders and more than half of these suffer with obstructive sleep apnoea.¹
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the most definitive medical therapy for obstructive sleep apnoea, OSA, however many patients have difficulty tolerating CPAP².
Oral appliances have emerged as an alternative to CPAP for obstructive sleep apnoea treatment.³
References
¹ Deloitte Access Economics. Reawakening Australia: the economic cost of sleep disorders in Australia, 2010. Canberra, Australia.
² Beecroft, et al. Oral continuous positive airway pressure for sleep apnea; effectiveness, patient preference, and adherence. Chest 124:2200?2208, 2003
³ Sutherland et al. Oral appliance treatment for obstructive sleep apnea: An updated Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. February 2014.
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