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Manitoba sees sluggish uptake on at-home sleep tests

A Cerebra At-Home sleep study kit is pictured. (Image source: Michelle Gerwing/CTV News Winnipeg) A Cerebra At-Home sleep study kit is pictured. (Image source: Michelle Gerwing/CTV News Winnipeg)
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There has been somewhat sluggish uptake on at-home sleep tests in Manitoba.

To help relieve some of the pandemic backlog, the Manitoba government partnered with a private company to provide 1,000 at-home sleep tests, but so far, not even a quarter have been used.

The at-home tests can record brain activity, breathing and leg movement. The tests would be able to help diagnose some common disorders such as sleep apnea and periodic limb movement disorder.

Manitoba partnered with Winnipeg-based Cerebra to help reduce the sleep test backlog, which was more than 8,000. According to the latest numbers from the province, around 20 per cent of the 1,000 tests have actually been used.

The province didn't provide a reason for why so few tests had been completed, but a spokesperson noted the pandemic backlog is still around 2,000 people.

The province had called the partnership with Cerebra a "short-term solution." When the partnership was announced, the province did not say how much the contract with Cerebra was to provide the tests.

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