Testing Procedures
Carilion Sleep Center provides a comprehensive, team approach to your sleep problem, including consultations, diagnostic testing, treatment, and follow-up. We understand the importance of timeliness where sleep and health is concerned. Currently we are able to arrange tests within two weeks of requests, and we commit to scoring and returning sleep study results within one week.
Included among the tests and treatments we offer:
Overnight Sleep Study (Nocturnal Polysomnogram)
An overnight sleep study (Nocturnal Polysomnogram) is designed to help diagnose many types of sleep disorders such as sleep apnea.
It's an outpatient procedure during which patients spend the night in a comfortable private room, which includes a bathroom with a shower and television with remote control. Patients wear their usual bedtime clothes, and After testing, patients are free to leave for normal daily activities.
The test also aids in the detection of other disorders such as nocturnal myoclonus, periodic limb movement disorder, REM behavior disorder, sleep walking and talking, bruxism (grinding or gritting of the teeth) and heavy snoring.
During the test, electrodes are placed on designated locations on the body to record electrical activity over the course of the night. The data recorded includes the following:
- Electroencephalogram (EEG) to determine the sleep stages in the brain.
- Electromyography (EMG) to record muscle tone during sleep.
- Electrooculogram (EOG) to record rapid eye movement (REM) during sleep.
- Electrocardiogram (ECG) to record heart rhythm and rate.
Respiratory air flow. - Thoracic and abdominal effort during sleep.
- Oxygen saturation by oximetry.
Multiple Sleep Latency Test
Another test, Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT), is an objective measure of daytime sleepiness and is definitive in the diagnosis of narcolepsy.
An MSLT consists of four or five naps, every two hours, over an eight-to-ten-hour period. A patient lies down on a comfortable bed in a dark room and is given a 20 minute nap opportunity. The clinician wakes the patient and instructs him or her to stay awake until the next scheduled nap.
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)
When obstructive or mixed sleep apnea is identified, the use of Continuous Positive Air Pressure (CPAP) is explored. A nasal CPAP acts as a pneumatic splint that prevents upper airway obstruction by pushing the soft palate and tongue forward and away from the posterior oropharyngeal wall.
Research concludes that consistent use of nasal CPAP is a safe and effective therapy for sufferers of obstructive and mixed sleep apnea.
A second overnight sleep study may be needed to determine a patient's compatibility with CPAP therapy and the amount of pressure necessary to break the apnea. The patient is briefed on the use of the nasal CPAP, given a CPAP mask to wear through the night and instructed to sleep as usual.
When a patient experiences an apnea during sleep, the CPAP pressure is raised to a level that eliminates the episode. It is important that this is done during all stages of sleep so the optimum level of air pressure can be recorded and prescribed for regular use during sleep.
Our services also extend beyond patient care in the Sleep Center setting. D edicated to raising awareness of the importance of sleep and t he potential harm living with a sleep disorder can cause, our staff members are frequent speakers to civic and medical groups. Representatives are available for health fairs or to give talks on general and specific sleep topics. Regional leaders in sleep care, we sponsor an annual conference sleep and respiratory issues at the Hotel Roanoke, and were instrumental in developing a professional association, Blue Ridge Sleep Society.
