NZ796354B2 - Patient interface - Google Patents

Abstract

patient interface comprising: a plenum chamber for pressurisable to a therapeutic pressure comprising: one or more walls at least partially enclosing a volume of space; one or more plenum chamber inlet ports; and a seal-forming structure constructed and arranged to form a seal with a region of the patient’s face surrounding an entrance to the patient’s airways, the seal-forming structure comprising a nasal portion having at least one nasal hole and an oral portion having an oral hole; a positioning and stabilising structure configured to generate a force to hold the seal-forming structure in a therapeutically effective position on the patient’s head, wherein the nasal portion of the seal-forming structure is configured to seal against an inferior periphery of the patient’s nose, the nasal portion of the seal-forming structure having a pair of nasal holes configured to deliver the flow of air to the patient’s corresponding nares in use, the seal-forming structure comprising a bridge portion between the pair of nasal holes, the bridge portion being provided between a central portion of the nasal portion that is configured to be positioned inferior to the patient’s pronasale in use and a lip superior portion of the nasal portion that is configured to seal against the patient’s lip superior in use, the bridge portion being slack to allow movement of the central portion away from the lip superior portion in use.

Claims (16)

1. A patient interface comprising: a plenum chamber for a patient interface, the plenum chamber being pressurisable to a therapeutic pressure of at least 6 cmH2O above ambient air pressure throughout a patient’s respiratory cycle in use, the plenum chamber comprising: one or more walls at least partially enclosing a volume of space; one or more plenum chamber inlet ports sized and structured to receive a flow of air at the therapeutic pressure for breathing by a patient throughout the patient’s respiratory cycle in use; and a seal-forming structure constructed and arranged to form a seal with a region of the patient’s face surrounding an entrance to the patient’s airways, the seal-forming structure comprising a nasal portion having at least one nasal hole configured to deliver the flow of air at said therapeutic pressure to an entrance to the patient’s nares in use, the seal-forming structure comprising an oral portion having an oral hole configured to deliver the flow of air at said therapeutic pressure to an entrance to the patient’s mouth in use, the seal-forming structure constructed and arranged to maintain said therapeutic pressure in the plenum chamber throughout the patient’s respiratory cycle in use; and a positioning and stabilising structure configured to generate a force to hold the seal-forming structure in a therapeutically effective position on the patient’s head, wherein the nasal portion of the seal-forming structure is configured to seal against an inferior periphery of the patient’s nose, the nasal portion of the seal-forming structure having a pair of nasal holes configured to deliver the flow of air to the patient’s corresponding nares in use, the seal-forming P1419NZ3 structure comprising a bridge portion between the pair of nasal holes, the bridge portion being provided between a central portion of the nasal portion that is configured to be positioned inferior to the patient’s pronasale in use and a lip superior portion of the nasal portion that is configured to seal against the patient’s lip superior in use, the bridge portion being slack to allow movement of the central portion away from the lip superior portion in use.

2. The patient interface of claim 1, wherein the bridge portion comprises a curved portion configured to straighten when the central portion moves away from the lip superior portion.

3. The patient interface of claim 2, wherein, in use, the curved portion is configured to extend away from the patient’s nose in an undeformed state and is configured to straighten when the central portion is moved away from the lip superior portion.

4. The patient interface of claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the curved portion comprises a single curve.

5. The patient interface of claim 4, wherein the curved portion is C-shaped.

6. The patient interface of claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the curved portion comprises two curves.

7. The patient interface of claim 6, wherein the curved portion is S-shaped.

8. The patient interface of claim 1, wherein the bridge portion is longer and comprises extra material than is necessary to bridge from the central portion of the nasal portion and the lip superior portion of the nasal portion, the extra material allowing for extension when the bridge portion straightens out.

9. The patient interface of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein, in use, the bridge portion enables the central portion to move in an anterior direction relative to the patient to receive the pronasale of the patient to accommodate different nose lengths without disengaging the lip superior portion from the patient’s lip superior when the patient dons the patient interface. P1419NZ3

10. The patient interface of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the bridge portion has a greater thickness than that of the surrounding central portion of the seal- forming structure.

11. The patient interface of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the bridge portion has a thickness of between 0.2-0.45mm.

12. The patient interface of claim 11, wherein the bridge portion has a thickness of between 0.3 and 0.4mm.

13. The patient interface of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the seal-forming structure is configured not to engage the patient’s face below the chin in use.

14. The patient interface of any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the plenum chamber comprises a shell, the seal-forming structure being connected to the shell.

15. The patient interface of any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the plenum chamber comprises a single inlet port.

16. The patient interface of any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the plenum chamber comprises a pair of inlet ports to connect with conduit headgear of the patient interface.