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What’s inside?
- What is KPAP?
- This is sounding a lot like AutoPAP…
- Is that all it does?
- What’s next?
For those of us with sleep apnea CPAP has become the standard, sometimes referred to as the Gold standard, therapy.
There have been a few optional versions of Positive Airway Pressure (PAP) therapies to try (such as BiPAP or AutoPAP) if the constant airflow of CPAP doesn’t work for a particular patient, but a company called SleepRes (who also came-up with the V-Com device) claims to have created a new algorithm for improving the efficiency of airflow from a PAP machine.
They’ve called this algorithm KPAP, which stands for Kairos Positive Airway Pressure. Now some may think the naming to be a bit strange (it is ancient Greek), but it’s not the name that is important… it’s the medical improvements that count, so let’s see what it claims to do…
What is KPAP?
At its core, KPAP shares the same goal as all other PAP therapies: to provide airflow with the intention of preventing the collapse of the upper airway during sleep. But KPAP takes this concept further by offering more sophisticated, real-time pressure adjustments and additional comfort features.
Some of the claims:
- Adaptive pressure delivery: KPAP dynamically adjusts air pressure based on the patient’s breathing patterns throughout the night. This makes the therapy more personalised and often more comfortable, as the machine delivers higher pressure when needed and reduces it when it can.
- Exhalation relief: Machines with KPAP installed are designed to offer smoother transitions between inhalation and exhalation pressures, making breathing feel more natural. Traditional CPAP can feel restrictive during exhalation due to its continuous pressure, but KPAP reduces this sensation by lowering pressure during exhale phases.
- Advanced humidification and climate control: To prevent dryness or irritation in the nose and throat, the KPAP algorithm can – if the supplier chooses to include them – include advanced humidification and climate control systems that automatically adjust based on the room’s temperature and humidity. This is a step-up on current humidifiers, which are set to a specific temperature and left to run.
- Quieter operation: Although not released yet, bespoke KPAP machines could be designed with quieter motors and airflow systems, minimising the disruptive noise often associated with traditional CPAP machines. Now, many PAP machines marketed today are already significantly quieter than those of 10 or 15 years ago, but if realised, this feature could still benefit both the patient and their bed partner.
- Smart technology integration: KPAP devices may also include features to allow both the patient and their healthcare provider to exploit advanced data-tracking systems. These could allow more detailed monitoring of sleep patterns, breathing irregularities, and therapy effectiveness. Given the current use of WiFi and Bluetooth in various PAP machines, we should expect KPAP machines (or standard machines with the KPAP algorithm added) to permit remote adjustments by healthcare professionals without the need for an in-person visit.
- Improved mask comfort: Given the intention to reduce air pressure, KPAP could improve comfort for those patients who traditionally experience mask leaks due to high pressure settings. If true, patients may also benefit from reduced strap marks as they may feel less need to over-tighten the straps. While we wait to see if this is the case, there’s a great little strap cover to be found at CrackingSleep.com.
Okay. This is sounding a lot like AutoPAP…
Yes, it does.
And while APAP has worked for many people it has also been given a hard time by many more over its inconsistent pressure adaptation.
The main pressure differences between APAP and KPAP come down to learning… in that APAP doesn’t learn and KPAP claims it can. Given the correct machinery, the KPAP algorithm claims to learn what therapy the patient needs over time and adjusts the delivery to meet that need.
Imagine you drive the same route to work every day. You approach the same junctions. You increase speed at certain points and decrease at others. If your car could monitor its surroundings and adjust your speed at the appropriate time you may find that useful.
That’s how KPAP claims to work… by learning how much pressure you need over successive nights and adjusting just before you need it.
How does that compare to APAP?... Well, the intention of APAP is to adjust the pressure when it senses you need a little more or a little less. It may seem a fine line to be walking, but it could make the difference between you getting the exact amount of pressure needed to keep the airway open versus getting enough pressure to re-open an airway that has already started to collapse.
Is that all it does?
Well, first we have to remember everything we know about KPAP so far is nothing more than corporate propaganda. It may turn out to be the greatest breakthrough in sleep medicine for 30-years… or it may just be hype. So, please take everything said here with a pinch of salt until further evidence is made public.
That said, SleepRes – the company behind KPAP – has previously delivered on the V-Com device, which helps adjust pressure settings on standard CPAP machines, so they have a limited but confident track record.
Some of the additional functionality KPAP could bring into the bedroom includes the ability to monitor a broader range of physiological data, including oxygen saturation, heart rate variability, respiratory effort, and possibly other biomarkers like skin temperature or blood pressure. This broader range of monitoring could (and it is still a could) enable KPAP machines to provide a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the patient’s sleep patterns.
What’s next?
Timelines for KPAP’s first introduction to the public remain under wraps.
For some reason (probably regulatory) they say they cannot put the algorithm onto a publicly issued CPAP machine in the United States, which is strange as the creator is based in Tennessee.
Instead, they intend to have KPAP added to a machine somewhere outside of the US, with that machine being shipped into the US for public display some time in 2025. They are pretty cagey on timelines, so 2025 is as good as it gets for now.
Overall, KPAP promises to be a potential game changer for many PAP users who struggle to maintain regular therapy due to air pressure alone. The benefits to this type of patient are claimed to be a reduction in pressure of around 5 cmH2O during the exhale phase. To put that into context, the average CPAP patient has a pressure setting of around 10 cmH20. The potential to reduce that average by half and still achieve reliable PAP therapy is too attractive to ignore.
If you’re listening SleepRes… I’m happy to be a guinea pig on this one.
Cheers,
Alan
P.S. I have taken to creating various bits on sleep and sleep apnea. If you would enjoy hearing more and find out where else you can find stuff like this, you can get my weekly Triple Whammy email, which has 3 short topics each week. Some written or recorded by me and others I’ve found out there in the strange world we live in.
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