A team at the University of Texas at San Antonio is working on a smaller, lighter, and easier-to-use CPAP machine.
“The conventional machines are considered to be unwieldy,” explained UTSA physics professor Arturo Ayon, Ph.D. His team is trying to come up with a miniaturized version of the CPAP that will be lighter, less cumbersome and more portable.
In the microelectro mechanical systems lab (MEMS Research Laboratory), Ayon and a team of four mechanical engineers have come up with a version of the CPAP that only weighs 8 ounces and is self-contained, no separate compressor, no hose coming out of the mask. A patent is pending. The team has applied for a $225,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to continue honing the new device.
A 3D printer churns out the mask itself. The next generation will be a smart CPAP, meaning it will not only be programmable, it will store and possibly transmit data to the referring physician.
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The forehead design of this prototype is similar to the top of the head HME mode for the Transcend portable cpap.
They are not very comfortable for a patient. Without humidification they add extra challenges for many patients.
Hopefully the issues around a portable pap with humidification will be solved.