A Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Machine is an artificial respiratory mechanism which, with the help of a flow generator, produces a constant flow of air at higher pressure than atmospheric pressure.

What is CPAP?

A CPAP Machine generates airflow that helps keep airways open during sleep through the application of positive pressure. This therapy has been proven to dramatically improve quality of sleep and reduce health risks in patients who are persistently struggling with problems such as snoring or nocturnal hypopneas (shallow breathing). The device delivers this flow by adding external respiratory support to an individual’s natural respirations via positive airway pressure – or, more simply put; pushing air into the lungs.

The idea behind CPAP was first conceived by an American physician John Hoagland in the early 1940s. He developed a rudimentary breathing aid which used an air hose and mouthpiece that he called the “Humidifier,” which was fitted to his wife’s nightwear.

Although he had described his invention as merely a “human humidifier” with no medical application, his ideas were eventually developed by Robert Lilly, who together with his research partner Stanley Fahn, patented the first commercially-available CPAP Device in 1968. This device included one of the primary components of today’s cpap machines reviewed: a side-mounted nasal mask connected to the patient’s nasal airway by rubber tubes and clear plastic tubing.

How Does CPAP Work?

To understand how CPAP Machines work, it is first necessary to know how and why the lungs function as they do: their primary function is to allow air into and out of the body; in normal circumstances, air travels through the airways by either inhalation or exhalation. Although both are important to life in a healthy environment, the degree of our survival depends on the rate at which we can do this.