A Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machine, CPAP machine, is a requisite for those living with sleep apnea, a disease that disrupts breathing during the night.  Because breathing is temporarily suspended (apnea literally means not breathing), the sufferer is woken up in the middle of the night and the body temporarily panics to adjust.  While it can be a temporary condition induced by upper respiratory infections, the vast majority of sleep apnea sufferers have a chronic condition. 

Traditionally one is diagnosed after completing a sleep study. Sleep apnea has a remarkably high incidence in overweight people, because the excess weight of the chest bears down on the lungs and makes the body believe it’s suffocating, resulting in the aforementioned panic and forcing the person awake, typically with a deep gasp.  This condition may sound innocuous (what could be so bad about a disrupted night’s sleep?) but it can cause low blood oxygen levels, preventing enough oxygen from being absorbed into the body. More severe effects, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and in some cases, a type of congestive heart failure can be seen. 

Additionally, because it frequently happens in people that are overweight, these risks and dangers are nearly quadrupled.  Symptoms include sleepiness during the day, excessive snoring, and continuous deep gasps during sleep; particularly if the person has snoring that isn’t rhythmic, and rather builds into a crescendo, breaks, and then starts building again, the person could be experiencing sleep apnea.

CPAP therapy is the most effective treatment of sleep apnea, but it is not the only treatment option available.  VPAP or BiPAP (Variable or Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure) machines are also available for those that don’t receive full health benefits from the CPAP therapy. These both work by introducing streams of variant pressure into the CPAP supplies like the face mask requisite of all machines, switching between inspiratory positive airway pressure and expiratory positive airway pressure at intervals that are either spontaneous or timed. 

No matter the therapy choice, those suffering from the condition have long complained about the size and cumbersome nature of the CPAP machine itself.  In previous years, they have been so bulky that people are effectively tied to their machines, and travel is difficult with the machine.  Many sufferers would rather leave it at home and forego a good night’s sleep, exposing themselves to the risks associated with the condition. 

With new technology, however, sleep apnea patients are seeing new and exciting changes in the size, weight, and portability of the machine.  Most models can now fit easily into a duffel bag along side clothes, shoes, and other travel items; there is absolutely no reason for a sleep apnea patient to be burdened with a large machine.  Some models are even small enough to take up a small corner of a briefcase.  Weights start from as little 1.54 pounds, which is an impressively tight package. 

This kind of change in the size and weight of the CPAP machine means a new kind of lifestyle for sleep apnea sufferers; in the same way that life is becoming increasingly wireless and technologically efficient, medical technology is also developing to become increasingly portable for the patient.  Glucose meters have become the size of a pack of gum for diabetics; batteries in all rechargeable devices have shrunk exponentially, allowing for extreme power to be contained in a small package; hearing aids have become virtually invisible; even IV drips are small, portable, and often computerized.  Is it any wonder, then, that 2009 witnesses a revolution in the size of the CPAP machine?  Each generation sees huge medical development; hopefully the next generation will see a cure for sleep apnea.