Patient Interface Seal Decoupling Tube Drag
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing patient interface systems for respiratory therapy, such as CPAP and NIPPV, often suffer from discomfort, instability, and leaks due to inadequate sealing and excessive headgear tension, which can lead to non-compliance with treatment.
Innovation Solution
The development of a patient interface system that decouples the air delivery tube from the seal, using a flexible plenum and a seal positioning and stabilizing structure that directs force close to the sealing surface, reducing the need for high headgear tension and enhancing comfort and stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If traditional rigid frame structures are used to anchor the mask, then structural stability is improved, but patient comfort deteriorates due to excessive headgear tension required to maintain the seal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional rigid frame structure with a flexible headrest structure that can conform to the patient's head contours. This flexible structure maintains the seal without requiring excessive headgear tension, thereby improving patient comfort while preserving structural stability through material flexibility rather than rigid anchoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the headrest structure by using materials with appropriate flexibility and elasticity. This allows the structure to adapt to different patient anatomies and maintain effective sealing under lower tension conditions, resolving the contradiction between stability and comfort.
2Device complexity
If the air delivery tube is directly connected to the seal structure, then connection simplicity is improved, but seal stability deteriorates due to tube drag forces disrupting the seal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the air delivery tube connection from the seal structure itself, allowing the tube to be connected to the flexible headrest structure rather than directly to the sealing elements. This separation eliminates tube drag forces from acting on the seal, maintaining seal stability while preserving connection simplicity through the integrated flexible structure.
3Ease of operation
If nasal pillows form a seal on the outside of the nares, then ease of positioning is improved, but sealing effectiveness deteriorates due to force vector misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible headrest structure that can dynamically adjust to the patient's anatomy and positioning. This flexibility allows the structure to accommodate different seal locations (inside or outside the nares) while maintaining proper force vector alignment for effective sealing, resolving the contradiction between ease of positioning and sealing effectiveness.
Data Source
AI summary
A patient interface system for delivery of a supply of air at positive pressure to the entrance of a patient's airways for treatment of sleep disordered breathing includes an air delivery tube connected to a flexible portion of a plenum; a vent structure having sufficient rigidity to support its own weight under gravity and/or not to block or fold under tube movement or tube drag; and a patient interface structure. The patient interface structure includes a seal forming structure arranged on a top portion of the plenum; and a seal positioning and stabilizing structure connected to a flexible portion of the plenum. The seal-forming structure is substantially decoupled from a tube drag force.