Patient interface and aspects thereof
A patient interface can have a frame supporting a sealing member. Various features of the sealing member can improve comfort and sealing performance in the context of forming seals with the nares of a user, as well as contact with other facial surfaces. The sealing member can include convex portions, concave portions and thickness variations for providing various sealing, comfort, and deformability effects.
1. A nasal seal comprising:
a sealing portion including:
a first nostril prong,
a second nostril prong, and
a sealing surface;
an inlet orifice;
a bellows structure extending between the inlet orifice and the sealing portion, the bellows structure comprising:
a bellows portion; and
a lower bellows portion extending between the inlet orifice and the bellows portion, wherein the lower bellows portion defines a radial dimension in a direction radially outward from the inlet orifice to a maximal extent of the lower bellows portion
wherein the radial dimension of a side of the lower bellows portion located towards a patient is larger than the radial dimension of a side of the lower bellows portion located away from the patient; and
wherein the bellows structure extends circumferentially around the sealing portion.
2. The nasal seal according to claim 1 , wherein the sealing portion comprises a lower surface having a curvature that substantially matches the curvature of the lower bellows portion.
3. The nasal seal according to claim 1 , wherein a distance between the lower bellows portion and a lower surface of the sealing portion is the same around an entire circumference of the sealing portion.
4. The nasal seal according to claim 1 , wherein the bellows structure has a consistent cross-section around an entire circumference of the sealing portion.
5. The nasal seal according to claim 1 , wherein the sealing portion includes a thickened region extending along a front of the sealing surface and/or the first nostril prong and the second nostril prong.
6. The nasal seal according to claim 1 , wherein the sealing portion includes various thickness regions.
7. The nasal seal of claim 6 wherein a thickness of the various thickness regions is selected such that the lower bellows portion and/or bellows region compress before the sealing surface in use.
8. The nasal seal according to claim 6 , wherein a first region including the bellows structure has a thickness in a range of about 0.7 mm to about 1.0 mm, a second region including a base of the first nostril prong and the second nostril prong that has a thickness in a range of about 0.9 mm to about 1.1 mm, and/or a third region including the sealing surface has a thickness in the range of about 0.7 mm to about 0.8 mm.
9. Nasal seal according to claim 1 , wherein the lower bellows portion and/or bellows region has a constant thickness.
10. The nasal seal according to claim 1 , wherein the inlet orifice has an oval shape.
11. The nasal seal according to claim 1 , wherein the inlet orifice includes a rigid oval ring configured to act as a connector.
12. The nasal seal according to claim 1 , wherein a base of the first nostril prong and the second nostril prong is flat or substantially flat.
13. The nasal seal according to claim 1 , wherein an outer perimeter of the lower bellows portion is larger and/or wider than a perimeter of the sealing portion.
14. The nasal seal according to claim 1 , wherein a width of the inlet orifice is the same as a width of the sealing surface.