Today's Edition
SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)
Many could be living with a sleep disorder, and they may not know it. Abu Dhabi is now looking into how AI-powered sleep tech, paired with real-time health data, can address that.
The emirate's Department of Health (DoH) is working with global sleep technology innovator Eight Sleep on a first-of-its-kind clinical study, which will initially focus on sleep apnoea, a common but frequently undiagnosed disorder. The condition causes momentary pauses in breathing during sleep, preventing deep rest and potentially straining the heart.
Speaking to Aletihad, Dr Asma Al Mannaei, Executive Director of the Health Life Sciences Sector at DoH, stressed that sleep apnoea is associated with "serious long-term health risks", including hypertension, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline.
The fact that such a disorder often goes unnoticed "makes sleep an important area for stronger prevention, earlier intervention, and better long-term management", she said.
The Abu Dhabi study will examine whether smart bed technology — including real-time adjustments to body position — can make a difference in how sleep apnoea is managed.
Over 12 weeks, Eight Sleep's technology will track heart rate, breathing, movement, apnoea events, and body position throughout the night. Once launched, this data feed will plug into Abu Dhabi's intelligent health system, allowing researchers to cross-reference it with participants' clinical, genomic, and lifestyle data to spot patterns that could shape future treatment and research.
The research will be conducted at Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, led by Dr Jethin Rafique, Division Chair for Pulmonary Medicine at the hospital.
Dr Rafique said the study will focus on "positional sleep apnoea," a subtype of the disorder in which breathing disruptions typically happen in certain sleeping positions.
He explained that the smart bed uses "vibratory sensors and AI technology" to detect when patients move into the trigger position and then prompt them to change position during sleep — which could theoretically help prevent apnoea episodes.
"There is encouraging data from the United States," Dr Rafique said. "We are hoping to validate that same kind of success here through this project."
Matteo Franceschetti, CEO of Eight Sleep, said the partnership marks the start of a bigger mission that could eventually extend into cancer research.
"Our collaboration with the Department of Health here in Abu Dhabi will be focusing at the beginning on … our technology's ability to detect and mitigate [sleep apnoea]. But then the goal is to expand into cancer and women in menopause," he told Aletihad.
Franceschetti described the UAE as one of the most forward-thinking countries in the world, saying its ability to integrate AI into healthcare and preventive medicine creates "a unique opportunity to set the bar for the rest of the world."
Dr Al Mannaei emphasised that the technology is not intended to replace clinical assessment or standard medical pathways. Instead, it is designed to complement existing medical practices by providing additional physiological insights that support more informed clinical decision-making.
"The aim is to strengthen how sleep apnoea is understood and managed over time, while keeping care grounded in established medical practice," she added.
