There are so many CPAP devices out there now with APAP, BIPAP, ASV and so on. It seems like there will be even more different types coming out. You might have seen XPAP being mentioned on the internet forums. This is not an extreme PAP machine like the name suggests. It is actually just a generic term used to include all PAP devices and machines.
Most of us would just say “PAP devices”, which is any device that uses positive airway pressure therapy to treat sleep apnea. But there are some people that just use the term XPAP to keep it shorter.
I mostly see the term used by doctors or sleep techs to describe PAP devices when they want to describe all PAP devices together. And if they had to say that a person needs BIPAP because of CPAP not working, they will specifically name each on that way. If they want to say “CPAP, BIPAP, APAP” have a had a huge success for treating sleep apnea, they they could just say “XPAPs have had huge success” to keep it shorter.
The only other time I see XPAP being used, I see some people on forums or Facebook groups using it, but not too often. Strangely, but rarely, I see some websites that see CPAP equipment use it in their description. They do that even though right in the title it will specify CPAP or BIPAP.
When I first saw XPAP, I was thinking X-files, Xtreme, Star Wars, or some really fancy, cutting edge device that hadn’t hit the market yet. I was much disappointed to hear the truth.
So don’t worry, there is not a special XPAP with fancy features you are missing out on. At least for now. 10 years from now, who knows? there could be an actual XPAP, TPAP, SPAP, or even the whole alphabet! Though a complete cure for sleep apnea would be even better.
If you want to learn more about the different PAP devices, or XPAPs, here’s an article detailing the differences between CPAP, APAP, BIPAP, and ASV.
And I will leave one last food for thought. If the XPAP did exist, what type of features would it have? What would it look like? How much would it cost? Really makes me wonder what the future XPAPs will bring us.
