Has anyone else ever thought of making their own mask?

I am soooooooo tired of trying different masks. They all either leak or have to be tightened so hard due the high pressure I'm on that they leave marks or create sores. I have an idea for a mask that will serve the purpose of both a chinstrap and a full face mask while still being extremely comfortable. The problem is that I don't have the equipment to mold plastic and create a prototype. None of the companies' R&D centers I wrote to seem to care. I wonder if the people who design these masks actually wear them? I think not... I would love to get in touch with some company that would look at my design and create it. It is revolutionary to CPAP masks and may just be the new way to go... Does anyone know someone who works for a CPAP mask making Company? If so, PLEASE have them contact me... 660 463 0040
If only "they" would listen... (sigh...)

Um....if your name is A. Ratley in Missouri (first name omitted intentionally), you might not want to put your phone number openly on sites. At least register for an account so you can be PMed. I typed that phone number in google and got a full mailing address and alot of PII about the named individual.

Goofproof has an idea :

Re: Converting SCBA full face masks a possibility?
by Goofproof on Thu May 28, 2009 9:21 pm

Finding the vent rate should be easy, look at a F & P 431 mask measure the DIA. of the holes and count them, drill the same in the faceplate, Use a Remstar APAP and software to check your leak rate. Use a O2 recording pulse OX to monitor your O2.

You will also have to build in a safety device to vent the mask in case the XPAP shuts down the air supply. I think the pain, exceeds the gain, but some of us are friends with pain. I have done mask experiments myself, I used 25 LPM as the bottom limit for vent rate, most masks at 30 LPM or above.

Maybe a bucket with hose attached, duct taped around the neck would work too. JIM

Personally, I think the entire mask outer edges (ff, nasal, and hybrid) should be thick, pliable gel, with a thin wire inside that we can press against our faces and mold the outlines to our own shape. Maybe even a gel mold of our face first, then the outer edges of the mask could be bent, shaped, snipped, to meet our individual needs.

If the problem with masks is leaks, the solution seems simple:



Now that is revolutionary.

dowen wrote:If the problem with masks is leaks, the solution seems simple:



Now that is revolutionary.

I would hate to see the rainout in that thing....

They are out there...

5aces wrote:They are out there...

Oh shucks, now we have to worry about 'armpit' rubs
mar

How scary is THAT? Can you imagine the posts that would come about if that suit were the "gold standard"? "I can't get a date since I have to sleep with this thing", etc, etc, etc.

Oh....why not hook up some kind of real heat to that thing....make it a sauna suit to use while we sleep.....we could lose weight while we sweat the night away!

I love google images.

but why stop at a body suit...
This looks comfy.

Ugh....I hate the sight of those. I got put in one when I got 'the Bends' when I was scuba diving in Hawai'i.

I really was not fond of the old MRI machines,a six-foot tight tube and plenty of noise.

TXLadybug wrote:Personally, I think the entire mask outer edges (ff, nasal, and hybrid) should be thick, pliable gel, with a thin wire inside that we can press against our faces and mold the outlines to our own shape. Maybe even a gel mold of our face first, then the outer edges of the mask could be bent, shaped, snipped, to meet our individual needs.

Masks are made like this by Sleepnet
http://www.sleep-net.com/index.html

Has anybody tried any of these by Sleepnet? Sounds too good to be true. I looked at a picture of a cloth one once . sleepweaver or something like that. Pretty funny. I haven't figured out how to throw a picture on here yet or I'd show you.