Headgear

FYI: 2 Headgear samples mailed for use in CPAP and BiPAP, no charge to these individuals for trial purposes
on their masks. No additional samples will be given away to this forum as this speaks as if there is no value in the equipment and its intended purpose.
The individuals in which a sample were mailed are:
1) Brooke
2) Carbonman
Thank you for your remarks and have a nice day.

Strapparatus-- I look forward to hearing those reviews from Brooke and Carbonman.

Strapparatus wrote:Traditional headgear used with a mask has a shorter upper straps compared to longer lower straps.
Since a bipap mask is configured differently than a nasal mask pressure will shift each accordingly.
A problem that many users have with headgear is "bounce". You tighten the top strap and the bottom loses its
seal. Conversely, you tighten the bottom strap and the mask bounces and the top shifts. This is due to the headstrap
pattern being inherently flawed. Head shapes : a narrower superior cranial anatomy can exacerbate this issue.
A rounder superior cranial anatomy may offset the bounce since most headgear is made for "big" heads.
An advantage of the "strapparatus" see <Link Removed Per Admin> is that the bounce with most masks disappears. The headstrap which is patent pending may be a little more uncomfortable than the neoprene version, however for functionality
and precision fitting you wont find an equal.

I will say the Strapparatus headgear looks advantageous in a critical care or ER setting, where traditional headgear might be cumbersome to quickly fit with acceptable precision. This forum has traditionally been unkind to cash-motivated hawkers. However, your product looks like a genuine effort at designing what you believe to be a better mouse trap.

Regarding that comfort gap you mentioned when comparing Strapparatus to neoprene head gear: one of our members, Padacheeks, offers a product that just may complement Strapparatus. See her web site at http://www.padacheek.com. Also SleepGuy's' product-related posts here are another example of highly effective message-board interaction while bringing two unique products to us. His web site is http://www.pur-sleep.com/. Many of us think highly of the way those two message board members have served our sleep apnea community with their novel ideas (hint: two business case studies of getting it right).

When members bring worthy products here while sincerely engaging other message board members for feedback, their products tend to garner a loyal following. Hit-and-run cash cow offerings, on the other hand, tend to go over like a lead balloon. And our hosts, cpap.com, have even been known to offer message-board-favored products on their own commercial web site at https://www.cpap.com. So consider continuing to engage people here at an interpersonal and friendly level, soliciting their feedback, ideas, and interest. Consider registering for membership as well. May your product earn the market share it deserves. Welcome and good luck.

Pictures from the Strapparatus web site:

Full Face Mask with Strapparatus Headgear


Nasal Mask with Strapparatus Headgear


Stapparatus Headgear (top) and Traditional Headgear (bottom)

It could also be that your misunderstanding of the difference between cpap and bipap makes one question your level of expertise. (Hint: It is not the diffence between nasal and full face masks.) On top of that your picture comparing standard four point headger to yours shows them at opposing orientations, further undermining the professionalism of your offer.

I do believe your design may help maintain equal pressure on all four contact points, but in my use of the four point headgear I want looser straps on the bottom. And it might address the real problem with four point headgear, which is the tendency of the lower half to ride up on your head.

You might have something in spite of your incomplete understanding of Xpap.

Oops... one more picture from the Strapparatus web site that I forgot to include in my earlier post:

The posterior picture above highlights how the four strap-
mounting points on a mask can be simultaneously tightened
using a single patent-pending cinch strap in the back.

Did I get that right, Strapparatus?


The old timers here already know this, but the new timers may not: I have absolutely no affiliation with Strapparatus or any apnea or CPAP related company. However, I see great value when small, innovative companies directly engage us in an attempt to serve us with better "mouse traps" so to speak.

I think Bret and Karen have done a great job. May they each serve as a model and inspiration to others who would come to know us while catering to our common needs. Hallelujah that companies might actually want to openly and warmly engage us while attempting to bring us better products!

Thank you for the above comments and information. If I may explain to all the pressures concerning just myself
working on this project : building a website, assembling, ordering, sourcing, marketing, editing, packaging, bar-coding,
you name it... and working a full time position as a RRT in the hospital. 1 person with 1 idea and a little help from
those with lots of opinions. This is enough for anyone, a lot on my plate. Give it a try some time.
In essence, the concept was for me, as a therapist to do something for the patient who had problem headgear, which I see often on very, very ill patients in the hospital. I have no idea what's happening with the headgear that home patients use since observervation in the home apparently is something not occurring anywhere. Perhaps if you put a video camera on yourself and watched your own sleep then you would see the events. However, in a hospital the events are observed and patients are seen with their equipment from home, sliding up the head and not holding a seal.
Does not matter if its the hospital equipment or the higher quality home equipment. Same deal.
I agree, thanks for posting the photos you gathered from the website, this is appreciated!
I am out of time, have to get to work. Have a good day everyone.