If you’ve ever utilized a continuous positive airway tension (CPAP) equipment to deal with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) for the duration of your treatment, you’re aware that the struggle towards smaller and more quiet devices has been going on for a long time. The fight has been won. It is no longer the case that the sound of a CPAP machine sound as loud as the snoring from the person who is using it. Furthermore, the modern devices are sleeker and smaller than older models and offer advanced features to assist all OSA patients to better manage compliance. If you’ve never had a look at the CPAP devices of the present then you’re being left out of some fantastic features that will improve the CPAP experience more enjoyable.
Manufacturers of CPAP machines such as Philips Respironics, ResMed, DeVilbiss Healthcare, and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare have made huge strides in the last few years to create CPAP machines which are not only better equipped with features such as exhalation relief as well as data recording, auto titration and heated humidification , but they have also put in the effort to create CPAP devices look less like medical devices that are obtrusive and more like common household items like clock radios. The efforts made by the manufacturers can help increase the patients’ acceptability of CPAP therapy, and thus increase the level of compliance for patients.
Silent. It’s the most appropriate term to describe any CPAP device that was developed in the past 18 months. This DeVilbiss Healthcare IntelliPAP boasts a reported noise level of 26 dBA. If you think of the whisper of a library is about 30 dBA, you’ll be able to imagine how quiet this machine made by DeVilbiss is. Does your current CPAP machine meet that standard? The latest models made by Respironics and ResMed are certainly able to be praised for their silence. The newer machines aren’t like the sound-alikes of freight trains that were used in the past.
Exhalation relief or auto titration are helping improve the acceptability of CPAP therapy. Exhalation relief enables patients to exhale with an automatically reduced pressure. The CPAP device detects the completion of an inspiratory cycle , and can decrease the pressure needed to exhale up to 3 centimeters of H20. Exhalation relief is available from all major manufacturers. They can be identified as C-FLEX (Respironics) or A-FLEX (Respironics), SmartFlex (DeVilbiss) and EPR (ResMed). Auto-titrating equipment, also called Auto CPAP or APAP, are now becoming more common within the CPAP therapy market as well. Titration is automatically adjusted by the machine in order to generate greater pressure as needed, or less when needed. Some patients might discover that having a fixed constant pressure is not always the best treatment. Certain factors like the amount of alcohol consumed, the position in which you sleep and prescription medication may influence the manner in which CPAP treatment is administered. Auto CPAPs will adjust the air flow according to the need and give you the necessary therapy at any time of the night.
Fisher and Paykel Icon CPAP machineThe latest machine to hit the market comes from The New Auckland-based Fisher & Paykel Healthcare. The Icon Premo is the latest model from the company. Icon Premo is designed differently from any other model before it, with dimensions of just 6.5″ square. It also comes with an oblique digital clock that creates the whole machine to look like an alarm clock that sits at one of your tables at night. It can also be used as an alarm clock, with the inclusion of AlarmTunes which lets you to play MP3 songs direct from your CPAP machine to kick off your early morning. The features of the machine aren’t simple but. Fisher & Paykel is recognized for its innovations in humidification, including ThermoSmart. ThermoSmart Technology, featuring the unique heating breathing tube offers higher, custom-designed humidity levels that remain constant throughout the night, regardless of changes in temperature. The higher levels of humidity allow for normal airway conditions to be maintained without the negative side effects of rain-out or condensation which is a term used in the eyes of CPAP users. The Icon’s humidifier is integrated into the device, so there is no requirement to have two separate devices. The new Icon is definitely one to keep an eye on in the medical field.