This document is applicable to the basic safety and essential performance of sleep apnoea breathing therapy equipment, hereafter referred to as ME equipment, intended to alleviate the symptoms of patients who suffer from obstructive sleep apnoea by delivering a therapeutic breathing pressure to the respiratory tract of the patient. Sleep apnoea breathing therapy equipment is intended for use in the home healthcare environment by lay operators as well as in professional healthcare institutions.

Sleep apnoea breathing therapy equipment is not considered to utilize a physiologic closed-loop-control system unless it uses a physiological patient variable to adjust the therapy settings.

This document excludes sleep apnoea breathing therapy equipment intended for use with neonates.

This document is applicable to ME equipment or an ME system intended for those patients who are not dependent on artificial ventilation. This document is not applicable to ME equipment or an ME system intended for those patients who are dependent on artificial ventilation such as patients with central sleep apnoea.

This document is also applicable to those accessories intended by their manufacturer to be connected to sleep apnoea breathing therapy equipment, where the characteristics of those accessories can affect the basic safety or essential performance of the sleep apnoea breathing therapy equipment.

Masks and application accessories intended for use during sleep apnoea breathing therapy are additionally addressed by ISO 17510. Refer to Figure AA.1 for items covered further under this document.

If a clause or subclause is specifically intended to be applicable to ME equipment only, or to ME systems only, the title and content of that clause or subclause will say so. If that is not the case, the clause or subclause applies both to ME equipment and to ME systems, as relevant.

Hazards inherent in the intended physiological function of ME equipment or ME systems within the scope of this document are not covered by specific requirements in this document except in 7.2.13 and 8.4.1 of the general standard.

NOTE 2        See also 4.2 of the general standard.

This document does not specify the requirements for:

–    ventilators or accessories intended for critical care ventilators for ventilator-dependent patients, which are given in ISO 80601‑2‑12.

–    ventilators or accessories intended for anaesthetic applications, which are given in ISO 80601-2-13.

–    ventilators or accessories intended for home care ventilators for ventilator-dependent patients, which are given in ISO 80601-2-72.

–    ventilators or accessories intended for emergency and transport, which are given in ISO 80601-2-84.

–    ventilators or accessories intended for home-care ventilatory support, which are given in ISO 80601‑2-79 and ISO 80601‑2‑80.

–    high-frequency ventilators[23], which are given in ISO 80601-2-87.

–    respiratory high flow equipment, which are given in ISO 80601‑2‑90;

NOTE 3      ISO 80601-2-80 ventilatory support equipment can incorporate high-flow therapy operational mode, but such a mode is only for spontaneously breathing patients.

–    user-powered resuscitators, which are given in ISO 10651-4;

–    gas-powered emergency resuscitators, which are given in ISO 10651-5;

–    oxygen therapy constant flow ME equipment; and

–    cuirass or “iron-lung” ventilation equipment.