Positive Airway Pressure System Phase-Dependent Relief
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current positive airway pressure systems for treating sleep disordered breathing, such as obstructive sleep apnea, often cause discomfort due to continuous high pressure during inhalation and exhalation, leading to poor patient adherence, despite the common belief that maintaining inspiratory pressure is necessary.
Innovation Solution
The system reduces pressure from therapy positive airway pressure to relief positive airway pressure after exhalation and maintains it at a lower level during inhalation and the subsequent exhalation, utilizing the viscoelastic properties of airway tissues to maintain airway patency without additional pressure support during inhalation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If continuous high pressure is provided during inhalation and exhalation, then airway patency is maintained, but patient comfort deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic action by providing high pressure only during the exhalation phase and reducing pressure during the inhalation phase. This creates a cyclic pressure pattern that maintains airway patency when needed (during exhalation) while reducing discomfort during inhalation, thereby resolving the contradiction between reliable airway maintenance and patient comfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamics by dynamically adjusting pressure levels based on the respiratory phase. The system transitions from static continuous pressure to dynamic phase-dependent pressure, where pressure is high during exhalation to maintain patency and low during inhalation to improve comfort, thus resolving the contradiction through adaptive pressure control.
2Reliability
If pressure is maintained during inhalation, then airway collapse is prevented, but mean airway pressure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses periodic action to apply pressure only during the exhalation phase rather than continuously. This timing strategy ensures airway patency is maintained during the critical exhalation period when collapse risk is highest, while allowing mean airway pressure to decrease during inhalation when the airway is naturally more stable.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by providing high pressure during exhalation before the inhalation phase begins. This preparatory pressure application ensures the airway is adequately supported before the inhalation phase starts, allowing pressure to be reduced during inhalation while maintaining overall airway patency.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If pressure is reduced during exhalation, then patient comfort improves, but airway collapse risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic action by reducing pressure specifically during the inhalation phase while maintaining high pressure during exhalation. This timing ensures comfort improvement occurs during inhalation when the airway is less susceptible to collapse, while airway patency is maintained during exhalation when high pressure is applied.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating pressure levels based on respiratory phase characteristics. The system recognizes that different phases of breathing have different airway stability requirements and applies appropriate pressure levels locally to each phase, ensuring both comfort and patency.
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
This approach increases patient comfort while maintaining effective treatment efficacy by reducing mean airway pressure and improving adherence to therapy, as the pressure profile is tailored to the specific needs of the patient's respiratory cycle.
Implementation Method 1
utilizing the viscoelastic properties of airway tissues to maintain airway patency without additional pressure support during inhalation
Data Source
AI summary
A method for treating sleep disordered breathing includes providing pressure into a patient's airway over a period of time that includes a plurality of inhalation periods and a plurality of exhalation periods. The pressure is at a relief positive airway pressure during a portion of the inhalation periods including an end of the inhalation period, and the pressure is at a therapy positive airway pressure greater than the relief positive airway pressure during a portion of the exhalation periods including an end of the exhalation period. The pressure decreases from the therapy positive airway pressure to the relief positive airway pressure after the end of the exhalation period.