Inspire Medical Systems, Inc., announced today that a scientific paper on its Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation (UAS) therapy for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), has been recognized with a Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Award from the Clinical Research Forum. The awards were announced at the Forum's Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. The 10 winning papers were chosen based on their degree of innovation from a pool of more than 50 nominations from 30 research and academic health centers nationwide.
Submitted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and University Hospitals in Cleveland, the paper "Upper-Airway Stimulation for Obstructive Sleep Apnea," showed that implanting Inspire therapy led to a 68 percent reduction in sleep apnea events and significant improvements in quality of life measures. The paper includes findings from Inspire Medical System's Stimulation for Apnea Reduction (STAR) trial, the results of which were published January 9, 2014, in the New England Journal of Medicine.
"Findings from the STAR trial were a crucial part of the FDA assessment and approval process for Inspire therapy," said Tim Herbert, CEO of Inspire Medical Systems. "We are honored to have the publication of our pivotal trial results recognized by the Clinical Research Forum and would like to thank the exceptional team of independent researchers, and in particular the lead investigators, for their dedication and hard work."
Inspire therapy is an implantable device approved to treat people with moderate to severe OSA who are unable to use Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy. While CPAP is often successful, studies show that roughly half of all patients that start CPAP eventually become non-compliant.
The Clinical Research Forum's Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Awards honor outstanding accomplishments in clinical research. This annual national competition seeks to identify major advances resulting from the nation's investment in research to benefit the health and welfare of its citizens.
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