RECAPPING THE YEAR
Just over one year ago, we anxiously shared our design for an invention to comfortably, effectively, and tolerably treat obstructive sleep apnea. Then, watching our story and campaign spread like wildfire, we came to fully realize just how many people were fed up with their current treatment options and ready for something radically better. With thousands of people contributing to our campaign, sharing our story, and offering to help, we were able to roll up our sleeves to begin delivering on this design.
Because of the amazing outpouring of support, we have been able to raise funds, move into a new space, hire team members, purchase equipment and materials, and make significant progress in turning our inventive design into a functional prototype.
GETTING PUMPED
In our last update, we explained that we were beginning to bench test the fully constructed components of the micro-blower technology. And now, we are beyond excited to announce that our micro-blower prototypes are officially moving air.
Let us explain what this means.
Our recent bench testing has shown us that our pump membranes are successfully displacing air into and out of the micro-blower bodies when electrostatically actuated. With this important function tested and proven, we have crossed a major milestone in the construction of our proof of concept prototype. We can now shift our complete attention to controlling this airflow and building a net pressure: turning these moving structures into a working prototype of our technology and device. This function is a key aspect of our proprietary design and will be implemented in the coming months using standard MEMS processing and techniques.
Figure 1: Animation of membrane movement of single micro-blower.
Figure 2: Microscopic, top-down view of single micro-blower's membrane movement.
In Figure 1, you can see an animation of our design for an electrostatically-actuated micro-blower that will move a membrane to displace air. And in Figure 2: a real, close-up recording of one of the first moving membranes of our micro-blower prototype. This top-down view of one of our micro-blowers was recorded deep in the heart of our technology prototype and magnified significantly for visibility. Because this movement is far too fast to see when operating at normal speed, we’ve shown it here being triggered manually.
LOOKING FORWARD
As you may have seen in our technology video, each of the displacement pumps (micro-blowers) in the Airing device have been designed to operate with opposing electrostatic charges in order to repeatedly expand and collapse, pushing out a pre-set, consistent, and powerful stream of air. There are hundreds of these micro-blowers assembled in parallel within the device, each pumping thousands of times a second. With all of the units working together, they will be able to achieve the flow rate required to maintain positive airway pressure for all prescribed settings.
We are proud to have successfully built our prototype micro-blower bodies and membranes and are now working to turn them into fully functional, pressure-building pumps. We have a lot of work to do before we can begin testing this pressure, but we are determined to bring the Airing micro-CPAP to those who need it as quickly as possible.We are grateful for the ongoing support and patience of our community. Thank you again.
And now, back to work in the Airing lab!
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