Both anatomical and physiological factors account for uneven nasal airflow. Examples of fixed causes may include a deviated septum, nasal polyps, or enlarged nasal turbinates. Physiological factors may be caused by allergies, body position, and the nasal cycle. This cycle occurs throughout the day and night for periods of 20 minutes to several hours. The Apogee immediately detects which nostril is open and delivers the oxygen to that side.

The nasal cycle was first described in a medical text in 1895. For nearly 100 years thereafter, there was little study on this subject — possibly because there was no way to continuously observe nasal airflow in real-time.

The inventors of the Apogee at Dynaris discovered how the nasal cycle occurs inadvertently after inventing and patenting a device to improve the way sleep laboratories measure nasal breathing for sleep apnea patients.

At first, they thought their machine was broken because it would often only detect airflow out of one nostril at a time. After research and testing hundreds of patients at a University Sleep Center, the nasal cycle was rediscovered. The graph shown on the homepage of this website records a real patient’s nasal airflow pattern for 8 hours during that study.

The nasal cycle is now widely studied throughout the world. It is mentioned in publications, medical textbooks, and even Wikipedia.

It is critical that respiratory patients receive consistent oxygen therapy to better comply with the doctor’s prescribed oxygen flow rate. Unfortunately, with other oxygen devices used today, they may waste 50% of the oxygen  — which could jeopardize the therapeutic benefits of the oxygen and increase healthcare costs.

Because no flow is delivered to the blocked nostril during therapy, this allows time for that nostril to rest, rehydrate and repair itself. This process alternates between nostrils throughout the day.

Oxygen can be delivered either continuously during both inhalation and exhalation (as is in most stationary home oxygen concentrators) or in a pulse dose mode where the oxygen is only delivered upon inhalation (as seen in most portable oxygen systems). This is to extend the time the portable system will operate.

1. The size of oxygen bolus (flow amount) delivered for each breath. Many units deliver a ‘minute volume’ so the faster you breathe, the smaller the bolus of oxygen becomes. The Apogee, on the other hand, delivers a ‘uniform pulse dose’ so that the bolus size remains constant regardless of breath rate.

2. The ability to detect inhalation at the earliest moment is critical to optimize therapy because only the first portion of inhalation will get deep enough into the lungs where gas exchange occurs. Units that sense and deliver late may only fill up the dead space in the airway. The Apogee’s dual sensors detect and deliver the oxygen before many oxygen systems can even begin to detect that inhalation has begun.

3. The purity of the oxygen being delivered. Some concentrators that are exceedingly small may only deliver oxygen purity that is less than 85% whereas oxygen tanks deliver about 99% purity.

Cylinder duration depends on the selected setting and usage pattern.
As a general reference, at a setting of 2, an M6 oxygen cylinder can last up to approximately 7 hours with continuous use.

The Apogee System is designed to target the most open nostril and deliver oxygen at the start of inhalation, when oxygen uptake is most effective. As a result, some patients find that lower total oxygen flow with Apogee provides comparable therapeutic benefit to higher continuous-flow systems.

Coverage for migraine treatment with oxygen varies. In the past, CMS provided coverage for oxygen therapy for cluster headaches, but this policy has changed, and migraine treatment is typically not covered under Medicare. At Dynaris, we accept checks, credit cards, and Apple/Google Pay.

Most migraine patients using the Apogee System choose to self-pay. Many report that the combined cost of the system and oxygen cylinders is less than the ongoing cost of prescription migraine medications, particularly when those medications are used frequently or long-term.

When used at the onset of a migraine, many patients have reported relief within approximately 3–15 minutes.

Some patients have also shared that incorporating the Apogee System into a daily routine—for example, using it for about 15 minutes in the morning and evening—helped reduce the frequency of their migraines over time. Individual experiences may vary.

Traditional oxygen concentrators may not be considered clinically equivalent for migraine treatment. Concentrators do not provide Dynamic Oxygen Delivery™, and the oxygen they generate differs from medical-grade oxygen supplied by compressed oxygen cylinders.

For this reason, concentrators may not be effective for migraine therapy, even though they may be used for other medical conditions.