Ventilation interface for sleep apnea therapy

A ventilation interface, comprising:

• (a) a nasal cannula, the cannula being a hollow, arcuate body having a flat top wall and a semi-cylindrical bottom wall defining an air chamber, the body having cylindrical tubes at opposing ends of the body adapted for connection to ventilator supply tubes;
• and
• (b) a pair of hollow, flexible, resilient nasal inserts, each nasal insert having a base end connected to the top wall of said nasal cannula and an open distal tip end, each nasal insert being oval in cross-section and defining a conduit forming an air passage in communication with said air chamber, each said nasal insert having a flange formed as a bead disposed about the distal tip end;
• (c) wherein each said nasal insert is capable of being compressed and inserted into a patient's naris to a patient's mucosal membrane and being retained therein solely by said flange, by the resilience of said nasal insert, and by lateral pressure against the naris from ventilator air flow through each said nasal insert.

A ventilation interface, comprising:

• (a) a pair of nasal inserts, each nasal insert being a hollow body made from a flexible, resilient, soft, biocompatible material, each nasal insert having a base end and an open distal tip end, each nasal insert being substantially oval in cross-section at the base end and the distal end and continuously oval in cross-section between the base end and the distal end;
• (b) a flange formed as a bead disposed about the distal tip end of each said nasal insert, the flange being adapted for forming a seal against a naris of a patient's nose;
• and
• (c) a pair of supply tubes adapted for connection to a ventilator air flow, the base of each said nasal insert being attached to a separate one of said supply tubes, whereby said nasal inserts are adapted for independent connection to a ventilator air supply;
• (d) wherein each said nasal insert is capable of being compressed and inserted into the patient's naris to a patient's mucosal membrane and being retained therein solely by said flange, by the resilience of said nasal insert, and by lateral pressure against the naris from ventilator air flow through each said nasal insert.