New CPAP Headgear Aims to Enhance Patient Comfort by Offering More Stability

Philips has introduced an improved headgear option for its nasal and gel pillow continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) masks that aims to make patients more comfortable with wearing their equipment, perhaps leading to better sleep quality.
“As CPAP masks have evolved over the years, their designs have become more minimal, much smaller in size, and much lighter in weight,” said Kevin Coldren, director of global product marketing at Philips, in an interview with MD+DI. “The challenge that comes along with that is, because they are lighter and smaller, they're much easier to move and dislodge when the patient moves in any way during the night.”
The company’s latest platform of CPAP masks, which includes the DreamWear nasal mask and the DreamWear gel pillow mask, solves some of that problem by moving the elbow of the mask from the front of the face to the top of the head.
“That removes actual torque right where the mask is sealing, but in general those smaller masks typically have less substantial headgear, so they're not as tightly strapped to the face,” said Coldren. He said these new masks do not need to be tightened as much, but they are a little less stable than four-point headgear that was commonly used with a traditional nasal mask or a full-face mask.
“So it’s kind of a tradeoff,” he said&Ac...

Source: MDDI - August 28, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Susan Shepard Tags: Design Source Type: news