System and respiration appliance for supporting the airway of a subject

摘要

A respiration appliance (10), system (40), and method (62, 72, 86) for supporting the airway of a subject (12) as the subject (12) breaths. The flow of gas from the lungs of the subject (12) during exhalation is leveraged to provide support to the airway. In particular, a body (14) that encloses one or more external orifices of the subject (12) provides a resistance differential between inhaled gas flows and exhaled gas flows that supports the subject's airway.

主权项

1. A system configured to support the airway of a subject as the subject breathes, the system comprising:
a respiration appliance configured to control gas flow between ambient atmosphere and one or more external orifices of the airway of the subject, wherein the respiration appliance has a first resistance to gas flowing from ambient atmosphere into the airway of the subject through the respiration appliance during inhalations, wherein the respiration appliance has a second resistance to gas flowing from the airway of the subject to ambient atmosphere through the respiration appliance during exhalations, wherein the first resistance is significantly lower than the second resistance, wherein, during inhalation of the subject, gas passes from ambient atmosphere into the airway of the subject through the respiration appliance substantially unimpeded by the first resistance of the respiration appliance, and wherein, during exhalation of the subject, the second resistance of the respiration appliance to gas flowing from the airway of the subject to ambient atmosphere elevates pressure within the airway of the subject by at least 1 cm H2O at 20 LPM of flow such that the elevated pressure supports the airway of the subject; a pressure generator configured to generate a pressurized flow of breathable gas during the inhalations and the exhalations; and a circuit that forms a gas flow path between the respiration appliance and the pressure generator that delivers the pressurized flow of breathable gas from the pressure generator to the airway of the subject via the respiration appliance.