Patient Interface Exhaust Venting With High-Drag Passages
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing exhaust ports in patient interfaces for CPAP devices often cause discomfort by directing exhaled air onto the patient or bed partner and are difficult to clean, providing a potential harbor for germs.
Innovation Solution
A patient interface design featuring high-drag passages with elongated slots and multiple bends to diffuse exhaled air, combined with a modular construction for easy cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional exhaust ports are used to vent exhaled air, then air exhaust function is achieved, but air discomfort to patient or bed partner occurs and cleaning difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The exhaust arrangement is divided into multiple separate passages (first exhaust passage, second exhaust passage, etc.) instead of a single port. Each passage is independently configurable, allowing the system to segment the exhaust flow to reduce discomfort while maintaining cleanability of individual passages
Solution Approach 2:
The exhaust passages are configured to be adjustable or reconfigurable, allowing dynamic modification of passage characteristics (such as opening/closing certain passages or adjusting flow paths) to optimize both comfort and cleanability based on different operating conditions
2Object-affected harmful factors
If exhaust ports are designed to direct air away from patient, then air discomfort is reduced, but passage complexity and cleaning difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
Different regions of the exhaust system have different passage configurations optimized for their specific functions. Certain passages are designed with smooth, simple geometries for easy cleaning, while others incorporate directional features to control air flow and reduce discomfort, creating local quality variations throughout the system
3Object-affected harmful factors
If mesh or fiber material is used to cover exhaust port, then air diffusion is improved, but cleaning difficulty increases and germ harbor risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The problematic mesh or fiber material is completely removed from the exhaust system. Instead of using diffusive materials that trap germs and are difficult to clean, the invention extracts this element and replaces it with smooth-walled passages that achieve air diffusion through geometry alone, eliminating the cleaning and hygiene problems
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 design reduces air discomfort and facilitates easy cleaning, maintaining hygiene while ensuring effective air exhaust.
Implementation Method 1
a number of high-drag passages defined in the body member, each high-drag passage extending laterally between an inlet of the number of inlets and an outlet of the number of outlets
Data Source
AI summary
An arrangement for exhausting gases from a cavity of a patient interface to an ambient environment, patient interface for use in providing a flow of treatment gas to the airway of a patient. The arrangement includes a body member that forms a portion of the patient interface between the cavity and the ambient environment. The body member includes: a number of inlets defined in a first side of the body member for receiving gases from the cavity; a number of outlets defined in a second side of the body member opposite the first side for provide for the exit of gases from the patient interface to the surrounding environment; and a number of high-drag passages defined in the body member extending laterally between an inlet of the number of inlets and an outlet of the number of outlets.