BREATHING ASSISTANCE APPARATUS
A breathing assistance apparatus is designed for use with delivery of respiratory gases to a patient. The breathing assistance apparatus includes a patient interface, having a body section adapted to cover the nose, or nose and mouth of a patient and a sealing interface. The sealing interface includes at least an outer sealing member. The outer sealing member (201) is adapted to attach to the body section in a sealing manner and has a substantially thin section (203) in at least its nasal bridge region. The thin section is substantially thinner than the rest of the outer sealing member.
Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claim is identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the present application are hereby incorporated by reference and made a part of the present disclosure.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the InventionThis invention relates to patient interfaces particularly though not solely for use in delivering CPAP therapy to patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).
Description of the Related ArtIn the art of respiration devices, there are well known variety of respiratory masks which cover the nose and/or mouth of a human user in order to provide a continuous seal around the nasal and/or oral areas of the face such that gas may be provided at positive pressure within the mask for consumption by the user. The uses for such masks range from high altitude breathing (i.e., aviation applications) to mining and fire fighting applications, to various medical diagnostic and therapeutic applications.
One requisite of such respiratory masks has been that they provide an effective seal against the user's face to prevent leakage of the gas being supplied. Commonly, in prior mask configurations, a good mask-to-face seal has been attained in many instances only with considerable discomfort for the user. This problem is most crucial in those applications, especially medical applications, which require the user to wear such a mask continuously for hours or perhaps even days. In such situations, the user will not tolerate the mask for long durations and optimum therapeutic or diagnostic objectives thus will not be achieved, or will be achieved with great difficulty and considerable user discomfort.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,243,971 and 6,112,746 are examples of prior art attempts to improve the mask system U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,689 and PCT publication No. WO 00/78384 are examples of attempts to improve the forehead rest.
Where such masks are used in respiratory therapy, in particular treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) using continuance positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, there is generally provided in the art a vent for washout of the bias flow or expired gases to the atmosphere. Such a vent may be provided for example, as part of the mask, or in the case of some respirators where a further conduit carries the expiratory gases, at the respirator. A further requisite of such masks is the washout of gas from the mask to ensure that carbon dioxide build up does not occur over the range of flow rates. In the typical flow rates in CP AP treatment, usually between 4 cm H2O to 20 cm H2O, prior art attempts at such vents have resulted in excessive noise causing irritation to the user and any bed partners.
In common with all attempts to improve the fit, sealing and user comfort is the need to avoid a concentrated flow of air at any portion of the respiratory tracts. In particular with oral masks or mouthpieces it is a disadvantage of prior art devices that the oral cavity may become overly dehydrated by use of the device, causing irritation and possible later complications. Furthermore, a common complaint of a user of CPAP therapy is pressure sores caused by the mask about the nose and face and in particular in the nasal bridge region of the user.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is an object of the present invention to attempt to provide a patient interface which goes some way to overcoming the abovementioned disadvantages in the prior art or which will at least provide the industry with a useful choice.
Accordingly in a: first aspect the present invention consists in a breathing assistance apparatus, for use with delivery of respiratory gases to a patient comprising: a patient interface, having a body section adapted to cover the nose, or nose and mouth of said patient, a sealing interface, including at least an outer sealing member, said outer sealing member adapted to attach to said body section in a sealing manner, said outer sealing member having a substantially thin section in at least its nasal bridge region, said thin section being substantially thinner than the rest of said outer sealing member, wherein said outer sealing member is adapted to seal around the facial contours of said patient thereby providing a sealed fluid communication to the respiratory tract of said patient.
The invention consists in the foregoing and also envisages constructions of which the following gives examples.
Preferred forms of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The sealing interface of the present invention provides improvements in the delivery of CP AP therapy. In particular a patient interface is described which reduces the pressure of the mask on the patient's face and may be quieter for the patient to wear and reduces the side leakage as compared with the prior art. It will be appreciated that the patient interface as described in the preferred embodiment of the present invention can be used in respiratory care generally or with a ventilator, but will now be described below with reference to use in a humidified CP AP system. It will also be appreciated that the present invention can be applied to any form of patient interface including, but not limited to, nasal masks, oral masks and mouthpieces.
With reference to
Controller 9 receives input from sources such as user input means or dial 10 through which a user of the device may, for example, set a predetermined required value (preset value) of humidity or temperature of the gases supplied to patient I. The controller may also receive input from other sources; for example temperature and/or flow velocity sensors 11 and 12 through connector 13 and heater plate temperature sensor 14. In response to the user set humidity or temperature value input via dial 10 and the other inputs, controller 9 determines when (or to what level) to energize heater plate 7 to heat the water 6 within humidification chamber 5. As the volume of water 6 within humidification chamber 5 is heated, water vapour begins to fill the volume of the chamber above the water's surface and is passed out of the humidification chamber 5 outlet 4 with the flow of gases (for example air) provided from a gases supply means or blower 15 which enters the chamber through inlet 16. Exhaled gases from the patient's mouth are passed directly to ambient surroundings in
Blower 15 is provided with variable pressure regulating means or variable speed fan 21 which draws air or other gases through blower inlet 17. The speed of variable speed fan 21 is controlled by electronic controller 18 (or alternatively the function of controller 18 could carried out by controller 9) in response to inputs from controller 9 and a user set predetermined required value (preset value) of pressure or fan speed via dial 19.
Nasal MaskAccording to a first embodiment of the present invention the patient interface is shown in
The hollow body 102 is constructed of a relatively inflexible material for example, polycarbonate plastic. Such a material would provide the requisite rigidity as well as being transparent and a relatively good insulator. The expiratory gases can be expelled through a valve (not shown) in the mask, a further expiratory conduit (not shown), or any other such method as is known in the art.
Mask CushionReferring now to
In
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention as shown in
The outer sheath 1112 fits in place over the cushion 1110, holding it in place. The sheath 1112 is secured by a snap-fit to the periphery 1114 of the hollow body. In
A second preferred embodiment to the mask cushion is depicted in
Referring particularly to
Referring now to
Referring to
In yet other forms of the sealing interface of the present invention the inner cushion may be provided with other contours on the front side of the inner cushion or cut outs on the back side of the inner cushion, so that in the areas where there are regions cut out of the back side of the cushion the cushion is more flexible. In particular, cut outs in the nasal bridge, cheek and upper lip regions provide the patient with a mask cushion that is more flexible and thus more comfortable.
A final form of a sealing interface is shown in
Referring now to
Similar to described above the outer sealing member or outer sheath 201 fits in place over the inner sealing member (inner cushion) 202, holding it in place. The outer sheath 201 is secured by a snap-fit to the periphery 205 of the mask hollow body 204. The periphery 205 is shown including an outer bead 206. The outer sheath 201 includes a matching bead 207, whereby once stretched around the periphery 205; the two beads engage to hold the outer sheath 201 in place.
The outer sealing member or sheath 201 is shown in more detail in
In use, when a force is placed against the outer sheath 201 the thin bridge region 203 will collapse more than the rest of the outer sheath 201. Therefore, this section 203 is more flexible and allows for added patient comfort.
Referring particularly to
In particular, in
In other forms of the nasal mask of the present invention, the thin bridge region may not extend as far as that shown in
A further embodiment of the present invention is shown in
The hollow body 302 has an integrally formed recess (not shown) in which an insert 304 is fitted into. The recess and insert 304 each have complimentary circular apertures (generally indicated as 305) that form an inspiratory inlet when the insert 304 is placed in the recess. The inlet 304 is capable of being connected to the tubing that forms the inspiratory conduit 3 (as shown on
The hollow body 302 and insert 304 are injection moulded in a relatively inflexible material, for example, polycarbonate plastic. Such a material would provide the requisite rigidity for the mask as well as being transparent and a relatively good insulator.
The mask cushion 301 is preferably made of a soft plastics material, such as silicone, KRATON™ or similar materials.
The cushion 301 of the mask 300 includes a thin bridge section 305 in the nasal bridge region of the cushion 301, that is, that part extending over the bridge of a patient's nose. As an example, in the region of the thin bridge section 305 the walls of the cushion may be 0.2 to 0.3 mm thick and the rest of the cushion may have a thickness of 1 mm. In particular, the side walls need to be thicker to provide support in the cushion, so that it does not collapse during use or assembly with the mask body. In
Note must be made that the inner flange 307 of the cushion 301 that rests against the patient's face is also thinner in section than the side walls of the cushion 301 to provide flexibility to the cushion and thus comfort to the patient. In use, the inner flange 307 is the area of the cushion that seals against the patient's face and the side walls of the cushion provide stability to the cushion 301.
In use, when a force is placed against the cushion 301 the thin bridge section 305 will collapse more than the rest of the cushion 301. Therefore, this section 305 is more flexible and allows for added patient comfort.
Other forms of the cushion that may be used with the full face mask of the present invention are shown in
Referring first to
In
Finally, in
The nasal mask and/or full face mask of the present invention is preferably provided with a fixed forehead rest (208, as shown in relation to the nasal mask in
Claims
1. A cushion for a breathing assistance apparatus, the cushion comprising:
- an upper portion defining an uppermost extent of at least one opening; and
- a lower portion defining a lowermost extent of the at least one opening comprising: a thin section comprising a first thickness, the thin section being located in a region of the cushion configured to contact a patient's chin in use, and a pair of lateral portions comprising a second thickness that is greater than the first thickness, the pair of lateral portions being positioned on respective lateral sides of the thin section.
2. The cushion of claim 1, wherein the upper portion comprises an upper thin region.
3. The cushion of claim 2, wherein the upper thin region is arcuate in shape.
4. The cushion of claim 2, wherein the upper thin region and the thin section are more flexible and configured to be collapsible to a greater degree when a force is placed against the cushion relative to other portions of the cushion.
5. The cushion of claim 2, wherein the upper thin region comprises the first thickness.
6. The cushion of claim 1 further comprising a pair of intermediate portions that extend from the upper portion to the pair of lateral portions of the lower portion and define lateral sides of the at least one opening.
7. The cushion of claim 6, wherein the pair of intermediate portions comprise the second thickness.
8. The cushion of claim 1, wherein the cushion is made of silicone.
9. A cushion for a breathing assistance apparatus, the cushion comprising:
- a lower sealing portion located below a lowermost extent of at least one opening, the lower sealing portion comprising: a central section comprising a first thickness, the central section being located in a region of the cushion configured to contact a patient's chin in use, and a pair of lateral sections comprising a second thickness that is greater than the first thickness, the pair of lateral sections being positioned laterally outward from the central section;
- an upper sealing portion configured to seal against the patient's nose, the upper sealing portion being located above an uppermost extent of the at least one opening;
- a pair of intermediate portions extending between the lower sealing portion and the upper sealing portion, the pair of intermediate portions comprising the second thickness; and
- the at least one opening defined by the cushion, wherein the lower sealing portion, the upper sealing portion, and the pair of intermediate portions define respective portions of the at least one opening.
10. The cushion of claim 9, wherein the upper sealing portion comprises a thin bridge section comprising a third thickness that is less than the second thickness.
11. The cushion of claim 10, further comprising an outer edge.
12. The cushion of claim 11, wherein the thin bridge section is positioned near the outer edge of the cushion.
13. The cushion of claim 10, wherein the thin bridge section and the central section are more flexible and configured to be collapsible to a greater degree when a force is placed against the cushion relative to other portions of the cushion.
14. The cushion of claim 10, wherein the thin bridge section is arcuate in shape.
15. The cushion of claim 10, wherein the thin bridge section is located at an apex of the upper sealing portion.
16. The cushion of claim 15, wherein the second thickness of the pair of intermediate portions terminates prior to the thin bridge section.
17. The cushion of claim 15, wherein the second thickness of the pair of intermediate portions extends to corresponding sides of the upper sealing portion.
18. The cushion of claim 15, wherein the second thickness of the pair of intermediate portions extends to corresponding sides of the upper sealing portion.
19. The cushion of claim 9, wherein the upper sealing portion, the lower sealing portion, and the pair of intermediate portions comprise a face-contacting portion that is configured to contact the patient's face in use.
20. The cushion of claim 19, wherein the face-contacting portion is continuous.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 9, 2021
Publication Date: Jul 29, 2021
Inventors: Alastair Edwin McAuley (Auckland), Ivan Milivojevic (Auckland), Aiden Mark Shotbolt (Auckland)
Application Number: 17/227,142