Fewer than 50% of sleep apnea patients stick with therapy – including us. So we decided to do something about it.
Not sleeping sucks. Not sleeping and spending a fortune on CPAP devices that leak, fall off or leave strap marks on your face sucks even worse. At least, that’s the conclusion Bleep™ Founder & CEO Stuart Heatherington came to one fateful night at 3:30 am from the kitchen table.
“I tried every mask solution I could find and they all sucked,” said Stuart. “There had to be a better way. Totally frustrated, sitting at the kitchen table one sleepless night I sketched out what would ultimately become the DreamPort™ Sleep Solution – the first maskless CPAP solution that actually works.”
After 8 years in development, Bleep is proud to introduce the lightest, most ergonomically accommodating CPAP solution on the planet – a device that fits comfortably and doesn’t restrict your movement – enabling patients to get a better night’s sleep and stick with their therapy.
What we’re trying to achieve
We want to give every man, woman and child effected by sleep apnea a great night’s sleep. Our goal is simple: To make sleep apnea solutions that are comfortable enough that people will wear them, and work well enough that people will stick with them.
Nothing motivates like personal experience
A lifelong sleep apnea sufferer, Stuart has a keener interest than most in getting a good night’s sleep. He knows what it’s like to wake up more tired than when you go to bed. He knows what it means to snore so loudly your spouse and family members flee to the far corners of the house or banish you to the spare bedroom to get some relief. He knows the experience of being on the cusp of a deep, restful sleep, only to have it ruined by a few loud snorts and labored breaths of his own making.
Simply put, sleep apnea is no bleeping fun . . . and Stuart knows that first hand.
Stuart’s passion for finding a sleep solution that would work quickly became a full-time effort. At the time, his wife-to-be was working in the Carolina health system, caring for patients suffering from various sleep ailments. When she alerted him to an open position on the 3rd shift of a well-respected Carolina hospital, Stuart jumped at the opportunity to help his sleep-deprived brethren find that all-too-elusive good night’s rest.
Study after study, patient after patient, he observed and noted what patients liked and what they struggled with—what worked, what didn’t—and contemplated which things he might be able to improve upon and how. He became a registered sleep technician, and eventually went on to own and operate his own sleep lab. More studies. More patients. More observations.
The DreamPort™ Sleep Solution is born
Eight years ago, after attending a Continuing Education conference and suffering another sleepless night, Stuart had an epiphany. Grabbing a napkin from his kitchen table, Stuart sketched out an idea in pencil. The idea seemed so obvious—a way to address the numerous pain points experienced by most of the mask-wearing sleep apnea sufferers he’d studied over the years, and a way to help alleviate some of his own suffering.
That morning, he told his wife, “I’ve got an idea for a sleep apnea solution – and it’s going to change everything!” From such humble beginnings, Bleep’s Dreamport™ was born.
Stuart hired an attorney to research potentially similar products and to file for patents. He hired an engineer to help him build a prototype.
Certain of the DreamPort’s feasibility and marketability, he sold his sleep lab, convinced a few friends and colleagues to invest in the idea, and began the process of waiting on news of his patent filings. When it looked as though his great idea might go nowhere, he began taking a real estate class—just in case. Four days down that potential career path, however, the welcome news arrived: his patents were going to be issued.
He hired a Research and Development team. He vetted and selected manufacturers for both the main DreamPort™ device and the adhesive. He selected an automation and fulfillment group. He applied for FDA approval. He secured pre-orders from medical equipment suppliers and distributors.
The DreamPort™ Sleep Solution isn’t for everyone – but it is for most everyone
“DreamPort™ isn’t for everyone . . . but it is for MOST sleep apnea sufferers,” Stuart explains of the device:
If you perspire a lot, it’s not for you (the adhesive won’t stick - you can sweat it off);
If you’re one of the few who are sensitive to tape, it’s not for you (though the tape is high quality hypoallergenic surgical tape); and
If you require a full CPAP mask (that’s 15% of all mask-wearing patients), it’s not for you
If you don’t like washing your face or taking off makeup at night to apply it, it’s not for you. It won’t stay on nearly that well and do what it’s supposed to, NOT leak.
But for the vast majority of sleep apnea sufferers—next to achieving an outright cure—DreamPort™ is exactly what they’ve been hoping for all their sleep-deprived lives.
There’s no chafing, no hissing due to leaks, no ugly and irritating mask or hair lines (yes, that’s a “thing”), and we believe patients using the DreamPort™ Sleep Solution are more likely to stay compliant, which means better outcomes and better sleep.
Get Involved
Support us on Indiegogo and help us bring the DreamPort Sleep Solution to the 18 million people diagnosed with sleep apnea. If you or someone you know is a sleep apnea sufferer, send them a link to our campaign and let them know a better solution is coming soon.
From everyone at Bleep, thank you for your support.
We are committed to our goal: To make the best bleeping CPAP solutions on the planet. And we won’t stop until every sleep apnea patient is sleeping like a baby.
