Bairitone Health

Bairitone Health, established in 2021, is a Houston-based company addressing the diagnostic challenges in sleep apnea treatment. The company originated from the Texas Medical Center's Biodesign program, where co-founders Meagan Pitcher (CEO), Onur Kilic (CTO), and Britt Cross (CMO) identified a critical gap in personalizing patient care. Pitcher brings a background in translational biology and molecular medicine, having previously worked at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals and as a technology transfer officer at Baylor College of Medicine, experiences that honed her skills in accelerating scientific innovations to market.

The company is developing a system to improve the diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Its core product is the SOMNAR™ platform, a non-invasive, at-home diagnostic tool that uses passive sonar technology and artificial intelligence. This technology is delivered via a wearable facial patch that collects acoustic data from the upper airway during natural sleep. The AI-powered software then analyzes this data, using sonar beam-forming algorithms to create a dynamic map of the patient's airway, pinpointing the specific location of structural collapses that cause apnea.

Bairitone Health aims to provide a more precise alternative to the current standard for identifying airway obstruction, which often involves a drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE), a surgical procedure. By offering a detailed anatomical assessment from the comfort of the patient's home, the company empowers healthcare providers to make more informed decisions, matching patients with the most effective treatments, such as surgery, medication, or nerve stimulation, from the outset. This approach is designed to streamline the patient journey, reduce healthcare costs associated with inappropriate procedures, and improve outcomes for the large percentage of individuals who do not respond to frontline treatments like CPAP machines.

The company's business model appears to be focused on providing this diagnostic service to sleep care providers and potentially partnering with therapy developers to identify suitable patients and track treatment effectiveness. Bairitone Health has gained recognition for its approach, winning the Michael E. DeBakey Memorial Life Science Award in 2022 and being selected for the inaugural cohort of Activate Houston. The company has secured seed funding from several investors, including Supermoon Capital, TMC Innovation, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and is working towards securing a 510(k) clearance from the FDA.

Keywords: sleep apnea diagnostics, obstructive sleep apnea, at-home medical imaging, sonar sensing technology, airway anatomy mapping, personalized sleep medicine, non-invasive diagnostics, sleep technology, passive sleep sonar, AI-powered diagnostics, digital health, medical device, sleep care providers, airway collapse, treatment matching, drug-induced sleep endoscopy alternative, Houston biotech, Meagan Pitcher, Texas Medical Center, remote patient monitoring