Wednesday, March 22, 2006

BreatheX Wearable CPAP

Filed under: Neurology

Today, Hoffman Laboratories will announce the debut of BreatheX, the first wearable CPAP machine for sleep apnea. It provides continuous positive airway pressure without forcing patients to "plug in" to a bulky bedside device every night.

BreatheX users will enjoy greater freedom of movement wherever they sleep: in their beds, on the couch, or in many other sleep environments -- such as while traveling, camping, boating, or staying with friends or in hotels. Because the BreatheX -- which can be used with most interfaces on the market -- looks more like a pillow than a medical device, users won't experience the same mental barriers to acceptance and compliance that they often do with traditional CPAP devices.

There were substantial engineering challenges to developing a wearable CPAP device. Traditional CPAP motors are too inefficient to operate off a small battery pack, and they produce too much noise, heat, and vibration to be used close to a patient. To overcome these obstacles, the BreatheX relies on a highly efficient, patent pending, motor/blower design. This design lends itself to using a lighter, more comfortable headgear and nasal interface system (510K clearance pending), which will also be displayed at Medtrade.

This seems like a big engineering breakthrough for a company that's only been around two years. Who knows what Hoffman Labs will come up with, next?

More from BreatheX ...

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