Six-figure funding for insomnia treatment business’s collaboration with NHS
A company providing handheld devices which help people self-manage insomnia has received over £340,000 worth of funding to work with a children’s NHS trust to help children and young people.
Sheffield-based SleepCogni has a new Innovate UK grant funded project in collaboration with Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust to meet the growing challenge of insomnia in children and young people, and enhancing the firm’s AI capability to increase personalisation for children.
SleepCogni’s handheld device uses its patented Active-Feedback technology to deliver cues such as vibration as well as light and sound to help insomnia sufferers break the cognitive cycles that prevent sleep.
The device also captures physiological, behavioural, and environmental data to help understand what is impacting their sleep.
Professor Heather Elphick, consultant in respiratory and sleep medicine at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said: “As a leading children’s sleep clinic with the largest insomnia service in the UK our core aim is to empower parents and children to manage their insomnia using effective behavioural strategies.
“In our sleep clinic, this is implemented by healthcare staff and the need far outweighs the resources currently available.
“We are always looking for new technology and innovations to support our children, young people and families.
“We are very enthusiastic about our collaboration with SleepCogni in advancing their innovation.
“We recognise the potential their solution offers to those suffering from insomnia in both adults and children.
“Pending a successful trial, we are seriously considering the incorporation of SleepCogni’s device into our standard practice.”
Dr Maan van de Werken, chief scientific officer at SleepCogni, said: “Industry-led research in the insomnia space holds great promise to impact many in society and we are excited to move to meet the growing sleep challenges facing young people.
“The collaboration with Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust marks a significant milestone for us at and it is an area we hold close to our hearts.”
SleepCogni’s long term goal is to reduce NHS waiting lists by offering an immediate initial treatment for insomnia, ensuring patients receive help within a matter of days, while providing meaningful insights into a patient’s sleep struggle to assist clinicians.
By doing so the business aims to cut waiting times in the NHS, easing the burden of sleep issues on patients and their families and helping to free up valuable time for clinicians.
The Innovate UK project aims to test the SleepCogni device in a user experience trial in paediatric patients; optimise the device for the specific needs of children and introduce AI algorithms to enhance the therapy’s personalisation and engagement, providing a novel approach to paediatric insomnia.
