The Dream Team!
Snorer.com brings together like-minded, passionate individuals who want to help save and improve lives affected by snoring and sleep apnoea
We are very lucky and grateful to work with some genuinely expert, helpful people. Without their support, Snorer.com would not exist. Feel free to explore their profiles.
We’re proud of how this makes us different to the countless charlartans selling pseudo-scientific BS stop snoring ‘cures’.
Our Directors
Contributing experts
Peer reviewers
Medical partner
Thanks to the team at Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (particularly the Respiratory Support and Sleep Centre) who understood the challenge and wanted to be part of our vision for helping people get tested and treated for sleep apnoea.
Sadly, we couldn’t convince employers to pay – so this service has been withdrawn.
Support team
Some of our technical team wish to remain anonymous – and as we’re supporters of anonymity, we’re complying! We’ve had fantasticly helpful specialists working on:
- Technical modelling / architecture
- Online security
- Web front end
- Web back end
Adrian Zacher MBA, Founder and Managing Director of Snorer.com Ltd.
After spending years labouring over how to describe myself (e.g., a ‘Snorologist’ [made up word]) I was recently (October 2021) perfectly described:
“Sleep patient advocate/champion”.
This description works so well for me, because as Ben Goldacre, author of “Bad Science” (and other books of similar ilk) would put it, pseudoscience is used to exploit the naive and it offends me.
So, when I see shameless exploitation of desperate snorers and counter-productive medical disclosure rules; I have plenty to write about and many people to try and help.
This part of the About page is shamelessly about me. How and why I do what I do.
After leaving school at 16, I trained to be a dental technician. Fast forward about two decades, and I found myself making custom medical devices (oral appliances) to hold a patient’s jaw in a forward position while they slept. (The idea was that if this stopped their snoring, surgery to permanently move it, could be justified).
As people found they preferred to use an oral appliance than undergo major, face-changing surgery; I set up the first dental lab in Europe specialising in custom-made, prescription ‘anti-snoring devices’ (1995): Zacher Sleep Appliances.
The custom-made medical devices I constructed were specifically, for patients who had been medically assessed for the presence or absence (and severity) of sleep apnoea.
A baseline had been established prior to their use and the effect or otherwise on their snoring and sleep apnoea would be assessed.
- Subjectively, for snoring
- and objectively if the patient had sleep apnoea.
ZSA – Zacher Sleep Appliances logo circa 2003
Along the way, I co-founded the British Society of Dental Sleep Medicine, instigated their BDJ published screening protocol, and for a decade worked as their dental trainer alongside Dr Roy Dookun BDS.
I invented a trial/titration oral appliance and a new approach to oral appliance therapy: ‘theragnostic’.
Which, I am happy to see Zephyr Sleep Technologies continued developing. Sadly, Zephyr recently went out of business (2021).
11 years of Zacher Sleep Appliances later, I recommended ResMed ↗ acquire Laboratoires Narval (an innovative CAD/CAM anti-snoring device manufacturer), completed an MBA, wrote a chapter in a dental text book about sleep, and was headhunted by ResMed to eat my way around Europe (ostensibly to commercialise their anti-snoring device).
Life changed in 2011 when Emma and I married and the following year our son was born and I became a ‘stay-at-home’ Dad.
While an amazing privilege, I encountered most of the prejudices a child-caring father does… but thats another story.
Reflecting on my own ‘Googling’ of symptoms and misguided attempts to ‘diagnose’ my infant son’s respiratory issues, the misinformation online appalled me.
I’m a “Do what you can” sort of guy, so in 2012 I co-authored 5 information guides with highly-respected medical experts in each snoring and sleep apnoea discipline, and setup Snorer.com to make them freely available.
Today, they are also on Amazon Kindle ↗ and Google Play books ↗.
By now, after two decades in the sleep industry, I was known amongst my friends as someone who knew a bit about snoring and sleep apnoea. I was asked how they could covertly get help, as they wouldn’t risk talking to a doctor about their drowsiness (What?!)
The problem is that those in vigilance critical roles, fear losing their job should they consult a doctor about their drowsiness/sleepiness. GPs are now compelled to disclose confidential information to the authorities about a patient’s suspected drowsiness if they intend to continue working.
Whilst well-intentioned guidance has been given to the GP; it simply means the drowsy truck driver or pilot won’t talk to them and confirms the industry-wide belief that a diagnosis of sleep apnoea:
“kills your career“.
Plainly an insane situation for everyone, as it doesn’t bear thinking about them crashing should they nod off for even a moment, driving a 40-tonne petrol truck or flying a 747 with 400 passengers on board…
In response to this, I came up with the idea of anonymous sleep apnoea testing as ‘confidential’ had clearly lost its meaning and something had to change. I found myself looking in truck cabs as I drove past them on the M40!
In 2015 my wife must have thought I was doing OK as a stay-at-home Dad, because our second child was born, and I now have two wonderful children to care for.
Having been through all the emotions about unscrupulous companies’ encouragement to self-diagnose and self-treat ‘snoring’, I turned my attention back to the online snake oil and dubious pseudo science used to sell such gadgets to unsuspecting snorers over the counter (OTC) or directly online.
I studied the market, I studied the regulatory perspective, and I tried to get the regulators to act – #fail.
Now, I am not one to give up… if you’ve got this far, you will have gathered that!
On a walk around a community pharmacy (after Googling and self-diagnosing myself) I saw something that made me think.
There were many products claiming to be effective for snoring and even obstructive sleep apnoea. But the clinical evidence does not support their place on the market.
Noting that the poor pharmacist, had a knowledge gap; I created Snorer Pharmacy™ (and a free online CPD course).
Snorer Pharmacy® is a web-based application to help sleep-trained pharmacists direct snorers to the most appropriate care pathway, based upon their patient’s symptoms and medical history.
We launched in November 2020 just as the Covid19 pandemic hit… happily we ‘designed for distanced delivery’.
Snorer Pharmacy® helps pharmacists direct ‘snorers’ to the most appropriate type of professional.
I teach dentists and pharmacists how to help their patients stop snoring (recognise sleep apnoea). Here I am at a 10 day course organised by Cephtactics (Nov 19).
In my spare time (haha!) I’m pleased to be a part of the OSA Partnership Group ↗.
The group’s aims are to raise awareness of the symptoms of OSA, the availability of treatment to manage these symptoms and the implications of the condition if untreated.
A new chapter begins…
In July 2021, together with an expert group of pharmacy and sleep professionals, I instigated the British Society of Pharmacy Sleep Services.
Our mission:
Plugging the disconnect between the patient and sleep expertise, at the first healthcare professional interaction.
The BSPSS aims to make the first healthcare professional/sleep issue member of the public interaction more informed.
KILLER IN YOUR BEDROOM
Here we go with an eBook to try another angle. Another way, to disrupt the BS used online to exploit the naive snorer and desperate partner.
It’s a 100 page (or so) eBook aimed at both the snorer and the partner.
It’s deliberately brief, short, sharp, and to the point:
- How to actually stop snoring (where to begin, who can help, what to do and not do)
- How to get help for sleep apnoea – if you’re fearful of losing your driving licence
- How to spot the BS used to separate you from your hard earned
Check out this info page about the eBook.
Emma Easton MA BA(Hons) PgC, Head of Amazing
Emma has had a varied career across numerous sectors. The common element has been helping people and making processes simple. This is one of the skills she brings to Snorer.com.
Having initially trained as a graphic information designer, Emma went on to win international awards for design and print. She undertook an MA in Design Management, moving her career into the more managerial side of design; working as a project manager in web design and build industries. After a few years and a relocation, Emma’s career evolved into IT consultancy, and she then set up and ran her own successful events company.
After many years in events, Emma wanted a change, and moved into career and talent management, working in a strategic career advisory, retraining with the first cohort of the CIPDs PgC in Career and Talent Management.
Having worked as ‘Head of Amazing’ and an Account Director in a leading B2B marketing agency, and more recently at M3 (EU) Ltd↗ / Doctors.net.uk,↗ Emma now runs her own consultancy business: https://business-bollox.co.uk ↗.
Emma blogs occasionally as “The Snoring Lady”
Bhik Kotecha MB BCh, MPhil, FRCS (Ed, Eng, Orl), DLO
Professor Bhik Kotecha was the Clinical Lead for the Sleep Disorders Unit at the Royal National Throat, Nose & Ear Hospital, London.He has been in this role since 1998. He was born in Kenya and has been in UK since 1972. He has a medical degree obtained in 1984 in Cardiff and a Postgraduate M.Phil., from the University of Sussex.
He is a Fellow of Royal College of Surgeons of England and a Fellow of Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. A member of Court of Examiners for Royal College of Surgeons of England, he was previously President of Sleep Medicine Section at Royal Society of Medicine, London 2009-2011.
- Assistant Editor for Journal of Laryngology and Otology
- NHS Consultant in ENT Surgery at Queens Hospital, Romford, Essex (Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust) and Royal National Throat, Nose & Ear Hospital (UCLH)
- Senior Lecturer at UCL since 1995
- Associate Professor at AUC, School of Medicine, USA
- Lectured nationally and internationally at various Sleep Medicine related conferences
- Appeared on various TV and Radio programmes to heighten the awareness of problems related to sleep disorders including
- BBC Breakfast
- BBC World
- GMTV
- Anglia Television
- Discovery Channel
- Published widely in the field
Iain Ormiston BDS, LRCP, MRCS, FDSRCS, FCSHK, FHKAM, FRCS
Professor Ormiston is doubly qualified in medicine and dentistry holding dental and medical/surgical fellowships, FDSRCS, FRCS and is also a Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine.
While his dental and medical/surgical training were in the UK, much of his post medical maxillofacial training was under Professor Henk Tideman at University of Hong Kong.
Professor Ormiston sits on the Board of Sleep Section of Royal Society of Medicine, London and on the Board of British Society of Dental Sleep Medicine.
He is currently a consultant Oral and Maxillofacial Cleft Surgeon and also Head of service for the departments of Maxillofacial, Restorative Dentistry and Orthodontics at the University Hospitals of Leicester, UK.
Dr Roy Dookun BDS, MFGDP (UK), MGDSRCS (ENG), FFGDP (UK), DIP DENT SED
Dr Dookun is a GDP (General Dental Practitioner) practicing in Guernsey with a particular interest in the treatment of snoring and OSA patients.
Dr Dookun is a past president and co-founder of the BSDSM (British Society of Dental Sleep Medicine ), Board member of the European Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine and Board member of the ARTP SAC (Association for Respiratory Technology and Physiology) Sleep Apnoea Consortium.
Dr Lizzie Hill PhD RPSGT EST
Dr Lizzie Hill PhD has worked in the field of sleep medicine since 2000. She is a Registered Polysomnographic Technologist, trained in the Department of Sleep Medicine at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
Lizzie teaches the MSc in Sleep at the University of Oxford.
In 2005, she was appointed Sleep Services Manager of The Edinburgh Sleep Centre, Scotland’s only private sleep disorders centre. She is a trained sleep counsellor, working with teenagers with sleep problems and additional support needs for the charity, Sleep Scotland.
Lizzie completed her Research Fellowship in the Department of Sleep Medicine at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, investigating prevalence and treatment of sleep apnoea in adults with Down’s Syndrome. She is the UK national delegate and President of the European Society of Sleep Technologists.
As well as sleep, she enjoys yoga, skiing, campervanning and real ale.
Adrian Williams FRCP DIPAASM
Professor Williams is clinical director, consultant sleep and respiratory physician, Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital, London, UK., and a Diplomat of the American Board of Sleep Medicine,↗ a founding member of The British Sleep Foundation, the Sleep Medicine Section of the Royal Society of Medicine, and the R.L.S. UK Group.
He has published extensively on Sleep Disorders including more than 100 peer reviewed original scientific papers and more than 40 other published papers including chapters and books.Adrian Williams graduated from University College Hospital, London and, after training in General Medicine there, took up a lectureship at The Cardiothoracic Institute, Brompton Hospital, investigating the pulmonary changes associated with chronic liver disease. In 1975 he took tenure at Harvard Medical School where his interest in sleep began with the investigation of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (S.I.D.S). Here he published a definitive study implicating Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) as a cause of the syndrome. In 1977, took up a post as Chest Physician at U.C.L.A. where he further developed his interest in OSA and published one of the very first reports of OSA causing hypertension and of oximetry as a natural diagnostic tool.
In 1985 Prof Williams became tenured Professor of Medicine at U.C.L.A. and Co-Director of U.C.L.A’s Sleep Laboratory and was one of the first to become a Fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).↗ In 1994, he returned to the UK taking up the directorship of the Sleep Disorders Centre at St Thomas’s Hospital. Here he developed one of the UK’s only comprehensive sleep services with continued interest in Sleep Disordered Breathing and its treatment.
In 2010, King’s College, London appointed him as the first substantive Professorial Chair in Sleep Medicine in the UK.
Shouresh Charkhandeh DDS
Dr Shouresh Charkhandeh was the Chief Dental Officer at Zephyr Sleep Technologies, the developer of “MATRx TM” Technology. He is the recipient of the “2012 & 2015 Clinical Research Award” and “2015 Clinical Excellence Award” from the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM).↗Dr Charkhandeh received his Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) Degree and Bachelor of Medical Sciences from the University of Alberta, Canada. He is a Fellow of The International Association of Physiologic Aesthetics and also a Fellow of Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies. He then furthered his education and training by completing a Research Fellowship in the area of “Sleep and Dental Sleep Medicine” at the University of Antwerp Hospital (UZA), in Antwerp, Belgium.
Shouresh is a general dentist who maintains a group of private practices in Edmonton and Calgary with an interest in Dental Sleep Medicine and TMD. He is actively involved in clinical research in Dental Sleep Medicine and his research focuses on developing new technologies to improve treatment outcome predictability and patient selection in Oral Appliance Therapy for patients with OSA (i.e. Obstructive Sleep Apnea).
Dr. Charkhandeh is a major advocate for the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to Dental Sleep Medicine which focuses on the collaboration of Sleep Physicians, Sleep Dentists and other healthcare professionals. He has been treating OSA patients for many years and also has trained hundreds of dentists in Dental Sleep Medicine.
Kath Hope
Kath has first-hand experience as she has sleep apnoea herself, so can truly empathise with the OSA patients her charity Hope2Sleep supports.Kath runs the charity Hope2Sleep↗, along with associated online forums, where her mission is to raise awareness of sleep apnoea and provide comfort accessories and masks for CPAP/ BIPAP/ APAP treatment. She also offers free support for newly diagnosed sleep apnoea sufferers in order to help them comply with their CPAP treatment.
She is an active member of the British Lung Foundation‘s ↗ OSA Advisory Panel, is an ‘Expert Patient’ of Guys & St Thomas’ Hospital, London and regularly liaises with sleep clinicians to help their patients struggling with CPAP.
Gareth Evans, BPharm(hons) MRPharmS
Gareth Evans is a cofounder and president of the British Society of Pharmacy Sleep Services. He is our community pharmacy advisor.
He has long-standing expertise in weight management, especially Total Diet Replacement Programmes. His 16 years work in this field was peer reviewed and subsequently published in 2020. His desire to tackle the foundations of morbidity led him to train in snoring and sleep apnoea as well as taking a keen interest in general sleep issues.
His pharmacist-led Waistaway clinic now screens individuals for obstructive sleep apnoea, offers home sleep apnoea tests and is regularly signposting to appropriate healthcare practitioners.
Snorer.me Signposting, Snorer Pharmacy® and the ASAP Anonymous Sleep Apnoea Process are CE marked Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) Software as a Medical Device (SaMD).
Snorer.com Ltd. is the manufacturer registered with the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority. Copyright Snorer.com (2019-2021) All rights reserved.
Snorer Pharmacy® is a registered trademark.
Page created by Emma Easton | Page last updated 1st July 2021.