Answer: The pressure generated by the typical CPAP machine ranges from 1 to 20 centimeters of water (cmH20), known as the treatment number. A doctor or sleep technician tests the patient to determine the appropriate treatment number.
The Airing device has been designed to generate the full range of treatment pressures up to and in excess of a treatment number of 20. This is possible because of the strength of the electrostatic force that drives the micro-blower plates, like bellows, open and closed, together and apart. Each micro-blower can push a small amount of air at significant pressure, and hundreds of micro-blowers work in parallel to achieve the required volume to effectively treat the particular patient’s sleep apnea.
Airing devices will be available initially in a range of pressure values so that you will be able to obtain the device with the treatment number prescribed for you, much like contact lenses. Eventually, we intend to make our devices adaptive so that they will self adjust (like some current high-end CPAP machines) to provide the exact pressure for effective treatment.
Here is a video that helps explain the technology behind Airing:
