(Not so) fun fact for your Thursday morning: sleep deprivation was (and I’m sure, still is) used as a form of torture. 

One of the “enhanced interrogation techniques” the CIA used in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks was just that. Lack of sleep disrupts biological functions deep in the brain. Whilst not as violent (and arguably, more boring) than the interrogation routines we see play out on cop shows, sleep deprivation is insidious, ultimately leading to fatal decline in all bodily functions. 

So, it’s no surprise that sleep quality is often one of the first things addressed when it comes to mental health. Literally every health related piece of information you come across will tout ‘adequate sleep’ as an important fundamental pillar of wellness. 

Health technology company, Medibio (ASX: MEB) has recognised this, and is exploring how they can use sleep analysis to aid in the early detection and screening of mental health conditions. Their latest clinical trial, dubbed the Sleep analysis of major Depressive Episode (SAMDE) clinical trial is officially open for patient enrollment. 

The SAMDE trial will involve 17 sleep centres across the US and will investigate the “robust, bidirectional relationship between mental illness and sleep disturbances”. An overwhelming amount of people with sleep disorders exhibit serious depression, yet there is seldom adequate depression screening in sleep clinics. 

To conjoin the two issues and encourage cross referrals from sleep centres to mental health professionals (and vice versa), Medibio is hoping to speed up diagnosis of mental health conditions in patients with some form of sleep pathology. 

The study will further refine and improve the Company’s proprietary algorithm to diagnose mental health conditions by adding an additional, sleep related primary endpoint. The algorithm will be performance tested for sensitivity, specificity and negative/positive predictive values. 

Initial algorithm and technology development is underway, and will be complete in time for use in analysis of the first patient. Once the trial informs on the merits of the algorithm, Medibio will further refine it. 

The announcement may give shareholders a slight lift, after a few months of watching their share price decline. Claude Solitario, Founder and Managing Director of the business, resigned on 22 June, 2022 citing a preference to pursue other business interests.