WVXU: Find your CPAP annoying? UC researchers are working on a more comfortable device

Sleep apnea if left unchecked can lead to an increased risk in cardiovascular and metabolic health.

Nearly 40 million Americans have obstructive sleep apnea, according to the Council on Aging, and some 33 million use a CPAP machine. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when air can’t move into or out of the nose or mouth, even when individuals are trying to breathe.

CPAP devices are highly effective — the problem is a lot of people find the masks uncomfortable. Dr. Liran Oren, a research associate professor in the UC College of Medicine’s Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, thinks he might have a new solution.

Oren is part of a research team at the University of Cincinnati developing a VortexPAP machine that takes advantage of vortex airflow technology. A preliminary clinical study with current CPAP users demonstrated that the VortexPAP can deliver the pressure levels that are used in the subjects’ CPAP therapy, but the mask is more comfortable to wear. It has a minimalistic design that is less intrusive and barely touches the patient’s face.

Oren spoke with WVXU for a segment on Vortex PAP.

Instead of having a continuous airflow, the VortexPAP pulsates the airflow and each pulse is made out of a vortex, Oren told WVXU. It's similar to when someone blows a smoke ring. The air is forcefully pushed out and you can see the ring float across the room. However, if they just exhale, the smoke stays around the face.

"The aerodynamics of that ring is very different compared to continuous airflow,” Oren told WVXU. “What we're doing is basically shooting this train of vortices into your nose, instead of having continuous airflow. The aerodynamics are very different; we can actually pressurize the airway in the same manner as CPAP devices, we just don't need the seal anymore.”

Listen to the WVXU segment online.

Research on the VortexPAP was also part of a segment on Spectrum News.

Learn more about Dr. Liran Oren’s work with the VortexPAP online.

Featured top image showing a VortexPAP device on the face of a mannequin in a laboratory in the UC College of Medicine.