Use of Auto-PAP devices expected to soar, study finds

LONDON - U.S. shipments of auto-positive airway pressure (Auto-PAP) devices will grow 70% by 2017, according to an IHS Technology report released Feb. 6. Auto-PAP shipments should grow at a CAGR of 14.2% over four years, surpassing shipments of CPAP machines by 2015, according to the report. "Healthcare expenditures in the U.S. for sleep apnea have reached unsustainable levels," said Nicola Goatman, medical devices and healthcare IT analyst at IHS. "Diagnosis through sleep laboratories and therapy using a CPAP system are no longer the most cost-effective solution to an ever-worsening problem." Auto-PAP devices automatically change pressure in response to patients' needs, so therapists don't have to visit as frequently to adjust machines as patients' conditions change, the report says.