Airing is the breathing machine that is small comfortable and mind blowing-ly simple.
For those who struggle with breathing, or have sleep apnea, using a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) device could be really uncomfortable and difficult to sleep in. The tubes or heavy device necessary are difficult to get comfortable to and most who experience sleep apnea decide not to wear the device to sleep and as a result are risking their lives.
The world’s first hoseless, cordless, maskless CPAP device, which in a crowdfunding campaign on the Indiegogo.
Airing inventor Stephen Marsh explained that he was working on a completely different invention at the time when he came up with the idea for the device.
Marsh reportedly came up with a new micro fluidic pump that could be used in micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) and mass-produced at low cost using roll-to-roll manufacturing processes. His brother suffers from sleep apnea and is “non-compliant” (i.e. he won’t use is sleep mask), so Marsh started thinking of ways to use the technology to treat the condition.
Airing achieves the lack of tubes by using a micro-blower that’s contained inside the wearable housing, allowing it to create precise airway pressure without the need for an external machine. The integrated nose plugs are designed to fit snugly inside nostrils, ensuring the device holds in place throughout the course of the night. Built-in vents in front draw and filter the air coming into the micro-blowers, with exhaled air blowing out through vents along the sides. The onboard battery can power each unit for around eight hours of use.
Unfortunately, Airing isn’t designed to be recharged and reused after that. Instead, you’re supposed to throw it away and swap in a fresh one, which is good because you don’t have to do any cleaning and bad because it seems just a tad wasteful. The company appears to be planning to recycle the units, though, since they only need to be cleaned and paired with a fresh battery, so an infrastructure for doing just that may come in time if the product ends up taking off.
Links: Airing
