P051 A customised 3D-printed nasal mask for enhancing CPAP compliance in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea

Abstract Current practices of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) mask fitting involve a trial and error approach based on two-dimensional fitting guides which fail to account for variations in facial features resulting in suboptimal mask fit. This study aimed to assess the performance of a novel three-dimensionally (3D)-printed customised nasal mask on patient compliance to CPAP therapy for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Patients prescribed CPAP therapy for OSA with suboptimal CPAP compliance using a conventional CPAP mask (<70% of nights with ≥ 4 hours per night over 4 weeks) were recruited. A 3D-facial mapping scan was conducted to fabricate a customised nasal mask which was trialed for four weeks. Data download of CPAP compliance over four weeks was collected with patients using their pre-existing conventional CPAP mask and a customised nasal mask. Thirty patients (22 males; age 63±13 years) were studied. Patients used CPAP on a greater proportion of nights with a customised mask compared to a conventional mask (85.7 [66.1, 98.2]% versus 63.2 [13.1, 96.8]%, P=0.009). Hourly CPAP usage was higher with a customised mask compared to a conventional mask (3.8 [2.7, 5.8] versus 2.4 [0.3, 5.0] hours; P=0.016). Mask leak was not different between mask types (P>0.05). Patients preferred the customised mask (P=0.008) for which they reported less mask-related side effects. A customised 3D-printed nasal mask improved CPAP use in patients with suboptimal CPAP compliance. Customised CPAP masks may have an important role in personalising CPAP therapy with the aim of optimising treatment effectiveness for OSA.