Airing has invented a micro CPAP device that has no hoses, no cords, and no masks. And we did it for one reason: too many sleep apnea patients don’t wear their CPAP masks at night. And who can blame them with those awful masks, cords, and hoses.
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is a form of positive airway pressure ventilator, which applies mild air pressure on a continuous basis to keep the airways continuously open in people who are able to breathe spontaneously on their own. It is an alternative to positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP). Both modalities stent the lungs’ alveoli open and thus recruit more of the lung’s surface area for ventilation. But while PEEP refers to devices that impose positive pressure only at the end of the exhalation, CPAP devices apply continuous positive airway pressure throughout the breathing cycle. Thus, the ventilator itself does not cycle during CPAP, no additional pressure above the level of CPAP is provided, and patients must initiate all of their breaths.
CPAP typically is used for people who have breathing problems, such as sleep apnea. CPAP also may be used to treat preterm infants whose lungs have not yet fully developed. For example, physicians may use CPAP in infants with respiratory distress syndrome. It is associated with a decrease in the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. In some preterm infants whose lungs haven’t fully developed, CPAP improves survival and decreases the need for steroid treatment for their lungs.
A key component of Airing’s micro-CPAP device is what we call the “nasal interface,” a fancy way of saying nose buds. It’s designed, built and tested while integrated to a test housing. This test housing allowed for normal breathing straight through with no micro-blowers and allowed us to simulate the size and weight of the proposed completed device. Various nose bud designs were evaluated.
Described as a “hoseless, maskless, cordless micro-CPAP device,” it measures just 2 x 1.5 x 1 inches and weighs 0.9 ounces, a huge departure from the large, cumbersome CPAP machines currently in the market. When used, it plugs directly into the nostrils, adding just an inch of housing under the nose, with no tubes sticking out whatsoever, making them especially convenient.
Airing achieves the lack of tubes by using a micro-blower that’s contained inside the wearable housing, allowing it to create precise airway pressure without the need for an external machine. The integrated nose plugs are designed to fit snugly inside nostrils, ensuring the device holds in place throughout the course of the night. Built-in vents in front draw and filter the air coming into the micro-blowers, with exhaled air blowing out through vents along the sides. The onboard battery can power each unit for around eight hours of use.
Comments are closed.