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Wednesday, 2 September 2015

Sleep disorders are estimated to cost the Australian health system $5.1 billion annually. More than half of this cost is associated with sleep apnoea which is associated with snoring and repeated periods of ‘choking’ during sleep.

Sleep apnoea causes daytime sleepiness and is strongly linked to sleepiness related accidents, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and depression. Despite sleep apnoea being treatable, the vast majority - up to75% - of individuals remain undiagnosed. This is largely because current methods of assessing sleep apnoea are expensive and access to them is limited. Cutting edge research being undertaken at UWA into sleep disorders has identified that the structure of the face, head and neck have a key role to play in the diagnosis of sleep apnoea. It is possible that in the future, sleep apnoea will be diagnosed from a single 3-D photograph of the face.

In a free public lecture as part of UWA’s Research Week, Researchers Professor Peter Eastwood and Associate Professor Ajmal Mian will discuss their innovative research in the area of sleep apnoea and facial structure.

Professor Eastwood, who heads the Centre for Sleep Science at The University of Western Australia, will discuss the causes of sleep apnoea and its current treatments. Associate Professor Mian will then describe a sophisticated way of measuring facial structures, based on 3-dimensional deformable model fitting.

This lecture is part of UWA’s Research week, which runs from 7–11 September 2015. To find out more about the program and related activities visit https://www.researchweek.uwa.edu.au/


WHAT: Public lecture ‘A Good Night’s Sleep. Sleep disorders and the shape of your face’

WHEN: 6pm, Monday 7 September 2015

VENUE: Theatre Auditorium, The University Club of Western Australia

COST: Free, but RSVP essential.

BOOKINGS: www.ias.uwa.edu.au/lectures/sleep

Media references

Audrey Barton (Marketing and Communications Officer, UWA IAS)  (+61 8) 6488 4797

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