Philips - The first sleep centre in South East Asia - brought to you by Philips Malaysia & UMSC

7 October 2013 - It was a perfect match made in innovation paradise. The Asean Sleep Research and Competence Centre (ASRCC) is the result of an initiative from InvestKL in the first quarter of 2013.

We saw a highly synergistic possibility and moved swiftly to pair up Philips Malaysia with University Malaya Specialist Centre (UMSC). This has led to the formation of Southeast Asia’s first excellence centre to address sleep disorders in Malaysia.

Philips Malaysia has been at the forefront of innovation including research on sleep disorders, while UMSC has been pushing respiratory solutions in its sleep unit. With both organisations’ shared visions on care, research and education, ASRCC is here to address this less prominent subject matter in Southeast Asia’s medical field.

ASRCC is a testament of the Government’s commitment in driving innovation and talent. As the country’s first sleep centre, ASRCC is housed at UMSC and focuses on driving awareness and early diagnosis of sleep disorders through clinical research, training and a full spectrum of other sleep medicine services.

One-stop centre to find the root cause of sleep deprivation

One of Philips’ studies revealed that 1.9 million or 7% of Malaysians have sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). This spurred Philips into pushing for more research on sleep, and now, together with UMSC, they are determined to improve the health and wellbeing of the population in the Southeast Asia region. This dream partnership will leapfrog all parties’ vision of addressing the serious repercussions of undiagnosed sleep disorders.

Sleep is associated with a lot of illnesses like cardiovascular diseases and this matter will become more urgent as urban living is expected to take its toll on more working Malaysians. Sleep is also related to many areas of medicine, and it is easy for doctors to misdiagnose symptoms that are associated with sleep deprivation.

ASRCC constitutes four sub-sections which are expected to begin by the end of 2013.

Training Academy

Clinical Research Centre

Attain greater understanding of sleep disorders from an Asian perspective

Tele-medicine Centre

Sleep consultation via a centralised hub which conducts sleep reports scoring, analysis and patient management

Corporate Services Centre

Offers corporate packages for sleep disorder screening and check-up services

ASRCC also acts as a catalyst to attract more innovative-forward centres. These centres will pave the way towards providing Malaysians with high-value jobs and specialised training opportunities, which are in tandem with the country’s Economic Transformation Programme.