Revolutionary Device to Increase CPAP Adherence to be Introduced at the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS) Meeting this Week
Device helps new or struggling patients adjust easier and faster to CPAP and bi-level PAP for noninvasive ventilation. It’s like Training Wheels for CPAP.
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, JUNE 1, 2022 – SleepRes, LLC introduces the V-Com™ at APSS this week, a revolutionary device to make CPAP more comfortable and increase adherence. The V-Com™, which softens peak inspiratory flow, makes starting CPAP easier and faster.
“This may be the most important comfort factor in the PAP circuit since we developed BiPAP over 30 years ago,” said Eugene Scarberry, retired Senior Staff Engineer at Philips-Respironics for 35 years. “At the end of the day it is all about adherence and the V-Com™ is a whole new approach to increase early adherence that us manufacturers never thought of.”
V-Com™ is an accessory added between the CPAP mask and the CPAP hose that is specifically engineered to reduce inspiratory pressure and flow to provide comfort with minimal to no reduction in expiratory pressure (EPAP). Since V-Com™ has minimal effect on EPAP, there is minimal effect on therapy. After weeks or months when the patient can easily tolerate the peak flow and inspiratory pressure of PAP therapy, the V-Com™ can be removed from the circuit.
“I got to try a prototype of the V-Com™ several months ago, and the comfort was dramatic, especially at higher pressures,” said John Cason, Regional Senior Vice-President of Adapt Health. “We have been waiting for the launch this week at APSS because we believe the V-Com™ is going to improve adherence, and at Adapt that is our goal.”
The V-Com™ is for new (or struggling) patients on CPAP and bi-level PAP for noninvasive ventilation (NIV). Like training wheels on a bicycle, V-Com™ helps patients adjust easier and faster to CPAP.
“Physicians, respiratory therapists, and sleep techs are loving our training wheels analogy,” said Kami Harold, Vice-President of Sales for SleepRes, LLC. “Not every child needs training wheels, but training wheels makes learning to ride a bike faster and safer for all kids. It is the same with V-Com™ and CPAP.”
V-Com™ is not to be confused with expiratory reduction algorithms of CPAP devices (ie. C-Flex, EPR, Reslex, etc.). Expiratory reduction algorithms reduce EPAP and increase the likelihood of respiratory events and rebreathing carbon dioxide (CO2). V-Com™ reduces inspiratory pressure for comfort but maintains EPAP for therapy and safety from rebreathing CO2.
“Clinicians commonly ask, ‘Can’t I just turn the pressure down?’ The answer is clearly no,” said Allen Manus, RRT with the Veterans’ Administration. “Turning the pressure down lowers EPAP which increases respiratory events and the risk of rebreathing CO2. Plus, turning down the pressure requires running down a doctor to get an order and then later running them down again to change the order back. V-Com™ is not only better for my patients but better for our staff.”
“So far over 90% of new CPAP patients who have tried the V-Com™ felt the difference and believe the V-Com™ will help them adjust to CPAP faster,” said Harold. “We tell sleep clinicians that 15 seconds of experiencing the V-Com™ yourself is better than 15 minutes of us explaining the physics and engineering of the device.” At the APSS meeting in Charlotte, NC this week, SleepRes is planning to let more than 1000 sleep medicine providers briefly experience CPAP and feel the comfort of V-Com™ for themselves in the SleepRes booth in the exhibit hall. Those who visit the SleepRes Booth will be given a sample V-Com™ to take with them as well.
The V-Com™ may reduce the need for chinstraps with PAP therapy. “We are finding that during CPAP titrations that the V-Com™ can resolve a patient’s mouth coming open and eliminate the need for a chinstrap,” said Carmen Keasling, RPSGT. “V-Com™ is not only better for the patient; it makes it easier on our sleep techs.”
In testing, the V-Com™ has minimal effect on auto-PAP and residual index algorithms. “In our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on the SleepRes.com website, you can find the results of our testing with various algorithms and testing with NIV and oxygen therapy,” said Harold. “And we have some preliminary data suggesting the V-Com™ may reduce treatment-emergent central sleep apnea (TECSA).”
Unlike most new medical devices, V-Com™ is very inexpensive. “Since almost all new patients on CPAP would benefit from the comfort of V-Com™, we wanted to make it very affordable,” said Craig Salazar, President of SleepRes. “We expect the retail price to be $25-$30. After having to spend more than $1000 to start CPAP, we want this increased opportunity for success to be as inexpensive as possible.”
“We may just buy them and give them to all our patients,” said Jason Shiflet, CEO of Home Medical Products, Inc. “Yes, increased adherence means increased revenue, but when you consider the decreased phone calls, complaints, and mask exchanges, along with happier patients, it just seems obvious.”
“Since I got the first FDA approval for CPAP for Respironics back in 1985 (and later BiPAP), the advances have come mainly from engineers at the manufacturers,” said Scarberry. “The V-Com™ came from a physician determined to get better adherence, who figured out the physiology and then worked hard to master the engineering. I am very proud of his efforts which should greatly help his and his peers’ patients.”
“I believe Dr. William Noah has created something truly unique,” said Robert Miller, RPSGT, RST, Vice- President of Apria Healthcare. “He may just make the industry reconsider the PAP therapy circuit, especially for patients on higher pressures.”
About SleepRes
SleepRes, LLC is a medical solutions company dedicated to products and technology to advance the field of sleep medicine. Born out of the COVID-19 pandemic and the CPAP shortage which began in 2021, SleepRes was founded by William H. Noah MD, a pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine physician, to re-evaluate decades of PAP therapy and delivery methods. V-Com™ is the first product in a series of solutions to be released by SleepRes. For more information, go to SleepRes.com.