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Diagnosis and Early CPAP
In 1994 Collin Anderson was diagnosed with sleep apnea. He and wife Jill were relieved at the knowledge that there was a treatment for his disabling condition, but their anguish and frustration quickly returned when Collin first tried CPAP.
The mask Collin was given in 1994 was essentially an update of the standard oxygen mask of decades past; a triangular box on the end of a tube, secured to the head by various straps. It was noisy, uncomfortable, it leaked, it fell off every time he rolled over and the exhaust either blew into his eyes or down Jill's back.
Being an innovator and engineer, Collin set about improving his masks before quickly realising that a paradigm shift was needed to solve all the problems inherent in the conventional design.
CPAP Masks: A User-Defined Engineering Challenge
There are two key things that a mask should do.
Firstly, it needs to be effective in the delivery of CPAP therapy to the patient. This means that it needs to be safe, while reliably transferring correctly pressurised air from the tube to the patient's airway without leaking. A leak in the seal around the edge of the mask inevitably bleeds pressure out of the mask, compromising the therapy.
Secondly, the mask needs to be comfortable so that the patient wants to continue treatment. Having a mask which is effective but uncomfortable, which either hurts or irritates the patient (or their partner), will just make it less likely that the patient will continue with the treatment.
Solving the issues of leakage and comfort are therefore the key challenges in mask design.
There has been significant improvement in mask design over the years and most modern masks can be adjusted in a range of ways to improve the fit. Despite this and despite the fact that the mask is obviously comfortable enough for the patient to give it a try, spending eight hours per night, every night, under an adjusted mass-produced mask is the real test.
Many users try a number of masks all with similar results (red marks, weeping red eyes, headaches, complaints, etc) before giving in and either living with the nightly discomfort or abandoning the treatment altogether.
According to some reports, up to 50% of new CPAP users cease treatment in the first six months.
What’s Wrong With the Standard Approach?
Clearly, mass-producing one type of mask is cheaper and easier for the manufacturer. Standard masks are designed to fit the middle or average facial profile, where most of the market is to be found. These masks can work for some people, but they only work really well for those people who happen to have facial features which fit the mask.
Isn’t this logic the wrong way around? Rather than having the face fit the mask, why not make the mask specifically to fit the face? If we could do this, then the mask really would fit the patient and be comfortable, it wouldn't leak and it would deliver the necessary treatment safely and effectively.
It is worth noting at this point that CPAP was first developed by Sydney University Professor of Medicine Dr Colin Sullivan in the late 1970s. The first patients were treated with pressurised air generated from a vacuum cleaner (seriously!) with tubes glued to the nose. The first re-useable masks which were used in this pioneering research were moulded to fit the face of the patient. The development of standard sized, off-the-shelf CPAP masks only occurred as CPAP was commercialised and the industry grew.
Towards a solution
Having realised that the standard approach was flawed, Collin Anderson set about developing a process for taking an impression of the face and then moulding a mask around these contours.
Along the way, he also dealt with issues such as noise, the directional airflow from exhaust ports and strap pressure. After many prototypes and feedback from friends, experts and fellow CPAP users the Anderson™ Mask was launched in December 1999.
Further development then gave rise to the Logical® Sleep Mask, which entered production in January 2006.
Once the work of development was complete, the mask needed to be brought to market. Small numbers of the Logical® Sleep Mask were made and sold by Collin and Jill from their home workshop in Kangaroo Valley, NSW between 2006 and 2008. At this point, with semi-retirement and other projects beckoning, the Andersons started looking for alternative commercial opportunities for the Logical® Sleep Mask.
The Outcome: Enter Acurest
Acurest was formed in 2008 to manufacture and market the Logical® Sleep Mask and to further develop custom-made solutions for the treatment of sleep apnea as an alternative to conventional masks.
A manufacturing facility and consulting rooms were established in Brendale, a suburb in the north of Brisbane.
Further refinements in the mask, in the process for taking the impression of the client’s face and in the manufacturing processes gave rise to the TrueFIT™ Custom Mask, which entered full scale production in February 2010.
The TrueFIT™Custom Mask is the result of a decade-long collaboration between CPAP users, technicians and engineers. It represents the state of the art in custom-fitted CPAP mask design and enjoys a growing reputation as the CPAP mask of choice in the sleep fraternity.