Thaindian News

Hyderabad, Jan 27 (IANS) The country’s first facility to treat sleep disorders has been set up here by the Hyderabad-based SleepCare Solutions (SCS) in collaboration with Philips Respironics, and plans are afoot for 25 more state-of-the-art centres.With an overwhelming majority of Indians facing sleep disorders, the facililty has come up in consonance with the guidelines of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

The firm plans to set up 25 centres over the next two years at a cost of Rs.20 crore. While 15 centres will come up in India, the rest will be located in Middle East and South East Asia, announced Lavanya Gali, medical director, SCS.

Set up at a cost of Rs.1 crore, the facility in Hyderabad has three beds and two portable testing devices for those who can’t the visit the centre.

“We are committed to playing a major role to solve the sleep disorder problems facing the Indian subcontinent by combining Philips medical technology and SleepCare sleep medicine know-how,” she said at a press conference.

The firm will be opening three new centres at Secunderabad, Bangalore and Pune in the next six months.

The facility offers comprehensive approach for the diagnosis and treatment of adult sleep disorders using the latest technology and therapeutic options.

Vamsi Maddipatla, director and president of SleepCare Solutions, said the SleepCare facility would charge Rs.7,500 to Rs.12,500 for sleep study while the CPAP developed by Philips Respironics costs Rs.15,000 to Rs.60,000. This device helps the patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

A Philips Sleep Survey, conducted in December 2009 by The Nielsen Company showed that 93 percent of Indians are sleep deprived, getting less than the eight hours of sleep they need per day.

The value of the global market for sleep aids is estimated at $25 billion in 2009 and is expected to increase to more than $33 billion in 2014.