Israeli company develops "internal mask" for patients with sleep apnea

[mdh235]

JERUSALEM, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli company has developed an "internal mask" for patients with sleep apnea, which, compared to traditional masks, is comfortable to wear and safer for people with cardiac problems.

Over 350 million people in the world suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), a condition in which the airway in the throat is blocked by soft tissue during sleep. If untreated, the problem can lead to serious cardiopulmonary illnesses, as the brain and the lungs are deprived of the right intake of oxygen.

The Givatayim-based company Discover Medical has developed a device called SomnuSeal to help treat patients suffering from this breathing disorder.

"We thought that the traditional mask was too uncomfortable to wear and studies showed that 50 percent of the patients ended up not using them because they could not fall asleep," Eran Lavi, CEO of Discover Medical, told Xinhua.

"What we did was put the mask inside the mouth, so as to prevent the abrasions that the external masks usually cause and we put it between the gums and the cheeks, without touching the teeth, " Lavi said.

"The patients see that the device is much smaller than the traditional air tank and mask, so it's less flashy and they feel less intimidated. Plus, since it pumps less air into the mouth, it 's also gentler on those patients who suffer from cardiac problems, " Lavi said.



http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/...888941.htm

[zonk]

Just googled it and seem been discussed in another forum back in April 2010

[MAPnea]

What would a mask like that do for "dry mouth"? Make it better? Or worse? And what would you wear over your nose? Kind of interesting, but….

[hobbs]

[zonk]

http://www.discovermedical.com/wp-conten...1-2012.pdf

[PsychoMike]

Reminds me if a scuba / snorkel mouthpiece. Still have to deal with the nose, though (clothespin? . )

[Sleepster]

This looks like it's an oral mask. Add nasal pillows and you've got a nifty hybrid mask that's an alternative to any full face mask. Also, this would be good for folks like me who don't tolerate a nasal mask very well and find that chin straps don't work them. Personally, I dread the notion of having to go to a full face mask, and if this product delivers as advertised it would be a life-saver for me if I ever had to do that.

[DocWils]

Darn, I was working on a product like this! Already had a prototype......

[PsychoMike]

This looks like it's an oral mask. Add nasal pillows and you've got a nifty hybrid mask that's an alternative to any full face mask. Also, this would be good for folks like me who don't tolerate a nasal mask very well and find that chin straps don't work them. Personally, I dread the notion of having to go to a full face mask, and if this product delivers as advertised it would be a life-saver for me if I ever had to do that.

But it's internal....between the gums/teeth and lips/cheek...It would probably be easier to just "pinch off" the nose than to try to tie it into a second part like a nasal mask.

I could imagine the headgear for a combined unit (this and a nasal mask) being pretty involved and them needing a bite tab on this part to help keep the works in place.

[PsychoMike]

Something else to note (just spotted it on their website):

SomnuSeal’s air pressure should not exceed 6 cmH2O

Not sure what that means for those with a current need for higher pressures....Discover Medical claims that their testing indicated that people didn't need more than 6 cmH20, but there are a lot of folks here using a lot higher pressure than that to splint their airways and I'm not sure that such a low pressure would work for them.