CPAP Headgear With Extendable Tubes for Secure Comfortable Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing respiratory therapy devices and systems, such as CPAP masks, suffer from discomfort, poor fit, and reduced patient compliance due to unsuitable design and construction, leading to inefficacy in treating respiratory disorders.
Innovation Solution
A patient interface with a seal-forming structure and positioning and stabilizing structure that uses gas delivery tubes to secure the seal-forming structure on the patient's head, allowing for a comfortable and effective seal at therapeutic pressures, even during sleep, using extendable and stiffened gas delivery tubes to maintain contact with the head superior to the otobasion superior.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional CPAP masks are used, then respiratory therapy can be provided, but patient comfort and compliance deteriorate due to poor fit and discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The headgear incorporates an extendable portion that can dynamically adjust its length to accommodate different patient head sizes and shapes. This dynamic adjustment capability allows the headgear to maintain optimal contact and sealing without compromising patient comfort, thereby improving both therapeutic efficacy and patient compliance simultaneously
Solution Approach 2:
The headgear design changes the physical parameter of length through its extendable portion, allowing customization to match individual patient anatomy. This parameter adjustment enables the headgear to achieve proper fit and sealing pressure for reliable therapy delivery while maintaining comfort for sustained patient compliance
2Reliability
If the headgear is made more secure to improve seal, then therapeutic pressure delivery improves, but comfort and obtrusiveness worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The headgear applies local quality by concentrating sealing force at specific contact points on the patient's head while distributing the overall weight and pressure through the extendable structure. This localized sealing approach achieves reliable seal quality without requiring excessive overall tightening that would cause discomfort
Solution Approach 2:
The extendable portion allows the headgear to dynamically adapt to patient head contours, achieving secure local contact for sealing while maintaining overall comfort through proper force distribution. This dynamic adaptation prevents excessive pressure that would cause discomfort while ensuring adequate seal quality
3Ease of operation
If the headgear is made adjustable to fit diverse facial shapes, then patient compliance improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The headgear is segmented into a fixed portion and an extendable portion that can independently adjust. This segmentation allows the complex adjustment function to be isolated to a specific component, making the overall device simpler to manufacture and maintain while still providing the compliance benefits of adjustability
Solution Approach 2:
The extendable portion provides the necessary adjustability for diverse facial shapes through a single dynamic mechanism rather than multiple complex adjustable components. This dynamic element achieves versatility in fitting while keeping the overall device structure relatively simple
Data Source
AI summary
A positioning and stabilising structure comprising at least one gas delivery tube to receive the flow of air from a connection port on top of the patient's head and to deliver the flow of air to the entrance of the patient's airways via the seal-forming structure, the at least one gas delivery tube comprising a tube wall having an extendable concertina structure comprising a plurality of folds in the tube wall alternatingly forming a plurality of ridges and a plurality of grooves, the folds able to be at least partially unfolded to increase a separation of the ridges to elongate the extendable concertina structure; and one or more ridge connecting portions provided to the tube wall, each of the one or more ridge connecting portions connecting two or more adjacent ridges of the plurality of ridges and being configured to resist the separation of the ridges.