New Respiratory Technology at Faxton St. Luke's
By: Rachel Polansky
Updated: August 30, 2012
Nearly one in 15 Americans suffer from sleep apnea, but one area
hospital is trying to alleviate that problem. Respiratory therapists at
Faxton St. Luke's healthcare are working to reduce the symptoms
associated with breathing problems caused by sleep apnea. They're
introducing patients to Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, or CPAP machines and one therapist says the new machines have many more features to help improve patients' breathing.
"With the new modern machines, the computers that are built into them do most of the guess work for us. And they monitor the patients, which is a nice feature that our older machines didn't have and they provide feedback as to how well the patient is doing on the CPAP machine. And if we need to make adjustments, we can see instantaneously on the monitor," says Gerald Vallese, respiratory therapist.
Vallese says the new machines can also add humidity, which makes breathing more comfortable. Patients say the new technology is less disruptive to their sleep and easier to use.
"With the new modern machines, the computers that are built into them do most of the guess work for us. And they monitor the patients, which is a nice feature that our older machines didn't have and they provide feedback as to how well the patient is doing on the CPAP machine. And if we need to make adjustments, we can see instantaneously on the monitor," says Gerald Vallese, respiratory therapist.
Vallese says the new machines can also add humidity, which makes breathing more comfortable. Patients say the new technology is less disruptive to their sleep and easier to use.
