COCONUT CREEK, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--An estimated 40 million Americans suffer from undiagnosed sleep apnea, according to Terrence Davidson, M.D., Professor of Surgery, University of California San Diego, Division of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. An additional 30 million Americans have already been diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).

The advent of the new Hybrid ^TM CPAP mask, developed by RespCare, Inc., helps OSA patients to breathe more easily and comfortably. The device is a substantially lower cost alternative to C-FLEX/EPR and bi-level machines. The new product helps these individuals, who, during sleep, stop breathing for 10 to 30 seconds at a time, sometimes up to 400 times a night. OSA is a potentially life-threatening condition that requires immediate medical attention. If gone undiagnosed, the risks of OSA include heart attacks, strokes, impotence, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure and heart disease.

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the most consistently successful and extensively studied treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. CPAP machines contain a fan that blows air under pressure into the nostrils. Most users of conventional CPAP (especially at pressures exceeding 10-12 cm H₂O) find the pressure hard to exhale against. Hence, their natural reaction is to leak through their mouth to relieve this somewhat. But this “mouth-leaking” adversely impacts the therapy.

C-Flex/EPR machines were developed to make exhalation easier. Bi-level machines allow the user to exhale against a lower pressure. However, C-Flex/EPR and Bi-level machines cost users hundreds of dollars in addition to their mask. Yet, these devices were widely adopted to eliminate “mouth leaking” because the other alternative of using a conventional full face mask (to allow mouth leaking) was extremely uncomfortable and ineffective.

The new Hybrid ^TM CPAP mask has changed the game. With the new Hybrid, a very comfortable effective dual airway mask that can allow for mouth leaking, there is now a lower cost alternative. A patient can opt to spend additional $50 for the Hybrid ^TM CPAP mask as opposed to competing devices, such as Respironics’ CPAP with C-Flex, ResMed’s CPAP with EPR, or a Bi-level machine, all of which can cost an additional $300 - $500.

Hybrid ^TM is a trademark of RespCare, Inc., a Coconut Creek, FL company that competes with companies in the sleep therapy market such as ResMed, Inc. (NYSE:RMD), Respironics, Inc. (NASDAQ:RESP), Tyco Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:TYC) and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:FPH). The Hybrid ^TM is exclusively distributed by Teleflex Medical, a division of Teleflex Incorporated (NYSE:TFX).

About RespCare, Inc.

RespCare, Inc., headquartered in Coconut Creek, Fl is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mergenet Solutions, Inc. and is engaged in developing, commercializing, manufacturing and marketing products to treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and other respiratory disorders. Its sister company, InnoMed Technologies, Inc. developed and launched the revolutionary Nasal-Aire CPAP interface in 2002 that captured 10% market share within 2 years and continues to be a widely accepted CPAP interface in the worldwide OSA and non-invasive ventilation (NIV) markets. More information on the Hybrid ^TM interface can be found at www.hybridmask.com.