Does The Activeair Increase Breathing Resistance When A Patient Exhales; Can The Silicone Dislodge/Fail, If It Did, What Could Happen; Does Activeair Technology Increase Resistance As The Patient Tries To Exhale (By Reducing Vent Flow); Resmed Generally Recommends Increasing Pressure To Wash Out Co2. Will The Activeair Technology Prevent This - ResMed AirMini Faq

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1.4. Does the ActiveAir increase breathing resistance when a patient
exhales?
No. The AirMini machine with the ActiveAir technology controls the CPAP mask pressure, delivering
equivalent performance to AirSense 10 (when using a 15mm tube, e.g. SlimLine). The AirMini
machine continuously adjusts the pressure at the outlet to compensate for circuit resistance and
maintain adequate therapy pressure at the mask.
Like a traditional vented mask, if the patient's peak exhalation flow exceeds the vent flow rate, some
flow will temporarily travel down the tube before returning to the vent at the end of the breath cycle.

1.5. Can the silicone dislodge/fail, if it did, what could happen?

The silicone membrane is physically encased inside the vent housing and is held in place with
retainer components. It would require significant distortion to enable the membrane to dislodge. If
damaged, the tubing component should be replaced as a missing membrane would result in high
flows and increased noise from the vent.
1.6. Does ActiveAir technology increase resistance as the patient tries to
exhale (by reducing vent flow)?
Pressure swings are an indicator of breathing comfort and with AirMini's ability to continuously adjust
pressure to compensate for the circuit impedance (including the HumidX), the mask pressure swings
are within our clinical specifications and do not deviate significantly from AirSense 10.
The only time increased resistance may be experienced is post apnea. During these episodes, the
patient will generally gasp for air, possibly resulting in an exhalation is so high that any device would
temporarily struggle to properly control the pressure. After this post-apnea breath, the machine will
return back to normal therapy operation.
1.7. ResMed generally recommends increasing pressure to wash out CO2.
Will the ActiveAir technology prevent this?
Our testing showed that with ActiveAir technology, AirMini was able to adequately rinse CO2 from the
mask. However, while the flow is lower than our previous devices, increasing pressure should still
increase flow and therefore should still increase CO2 washout to adequate levels where required.

1.8. What do I do if my patient feels like they are not getting enough air?

Like all CPAP machines, patients may be susceptible to various effects of CPAP therapy, which can
lead to breathing discomfort such as air restriction.
The AirMini machine has auto ramp as the default ramp setting with the Start Pressure set to
5cmH2O. This mask pressure will remain at 5cmH2O until sleep onset is detected or the timeout limit
(30 minutes) is reached before ramping up to therapy set pressure. If patients are uncomfortable with
auto ramp, check their ramp settings match their previous device, as devices prior to AirSense did not
have auto ramp features.
The AirMini machine has Expiratory Relief Pressure (EPR) setting enabling a reduction in pressure of
1cmH2O, 2cmH2O or 3cmH2O during exhalation. EPR will only function when the current pressure is
above 4cmH2O. The EPR level is also limited such that the delivered pressure will not drop below
4cmH2O. For example, if the set pressure is 5cmH2O, the pressure relief will be a maximum of
ResMed Ltd 1 Elizabeth Macarthur Drive Bella Vista NSW 2153 Australia
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