Creep Zone Patient Interface for Reduced Retention Force
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing patient interfaces for respiratory gas delivery often lack comfort and retention due to high force requirements, leading to discomfort and movement during use, and customized interfaces are impractical for individualized fit.
Innovation Solution
A patient interface with side arms that elastically deflect and permanently deform by mechanical creep deformation to conform to a user's face profile, reducing the force needed for retention and enhancing comfort, utilizing creep zones and dimensionally stable zones for effective anatomical fit.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a resilient material interface is used to reduce fitting force, then comfort is improved, but structural integrity deteriorates causing movement and excessive deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The side arms are divided into distinct functional zones: creep zones that deform to match facial contours and dimensionally stable zones that maintain structural integrity. This segmentation allows different portions of the same component to have different mechanical properties, resolving the contradiction between comfort and stability.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the side arms are given different material properties - creep zones with lower modulus for comfort and stable zones with higher modulus for structural support. This local differentiation of material properties allows the interface to simultaneously reduce pressure on the face while maintaining overall structural integrity.
2Ease of operation
If a customized interface is provided for every user to improve fit and reduce force, then comfort and retention are improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patient interface automatically adapts to each user's unique facial contours through mechanical creep deformation of the side arms during normal use. The material self-adjusts to the individual anatomy without requiring custom manufacturing, providing personalized fit while maintaining standard production processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The material properties of the side arms are designed to change over time - initially more compliant to allow deformation, then gradually stabilizing to match the user's facial profile. This time-dependent parameter change enables automatic customization without complex manufacturing variations.
3Reliability
If headgear force is increased to improve retention, then the interface remains in position, but comfort deteriorates due to excessive pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The side arms transition from a static rigid structure to a dynamic system that evolves over time. Initially, the creep zones are compliant and deform under headgear force, but as they undergo creep deformation, they gradually reduce the force required to maintain position, allowing lower headgear tension while preserving retention.
Solution Approach 2:
The creep zones are pre-designed to undergo controlled deformation during the initial wearing period, automatically adjusting the interface to the user's facial contours before normal use begins. This preliminary adaptation reduces the force needed for retention from the outset.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The interface achieves a customized fit with reduced force over time, improving comfort and retention by permanently deforming to match the user's face profile, accommodating various facial shapes without the need for individual customization.
Implementation Method 1
force in the headgear causing the side arms to elastically deflect and conform to a profile of the user's face
Implementation Method 2
the side arms adapted to deform by mechanical creep deformation in use so that a force required to elastically deflect the side arms to conform to the profile of the user's face diminishes over time
Data Source
AI summary
A patient interface used in a respiratory care system. The patient interface having an un-deflected configuration, a deflected configuration, and a formed configuration. The patient interface is adapted to elastically deflect, under the application of force, from the un-deflected configuration to the deflected configuration, and permanently deform when in the deflected configuration by mechanical creep deformation to the formed configuration.