Method and apparatus for providing positive airway pressure to a patient
First Claim
1. An apparatus for delivering pressurized gas to an airway of a patient, the apparatus comprising:
- a blower;
a conduit adapted to carry a flow of gas generated by the blower to the airway of the patient;
a sensor adapted to monitor a characteristic associated with the gas in the conduit or a flow of gas;
a signal related to the characteristic;
a pressure controller associated with at least one of the blower and the conduit to control a pressure of the gas in the conduit;
control means, responsive to the signal, for controlling the pressure controller so as to cause the gas to be delivered to a patient at a therapy pressure during at least a portion of a respiratory cycle, wherein the therapy pressure is a pressure sufficient to counter airway collapsing forces; and
a first selector unit, operatively connected to the control means, to select a first gain, wherein the control means controls the pressure controller so that the pressure of the gas in the conduit during at least a portion of a respiratory cycle is based on the first gain and the signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system including methods and apparatus for treatment of a medical disorder such as obstructive sleep apnea or congestive heart failure. The system involves applying a gain to flow rate of pressurized gas delivered to a patient during inspiratory and/or expiratory phases of a respiratory cycle to deliver the pressurized gas in proportion to the respective gains during inspiration and/or expiration. A base pressure may be applied in addition to the gain-modified pressures and an elevated pressure profile may be employed to assist or control inspiration. The system may be fully automated responsive to feedback provided by a flow sensor that determines the estimated patient flow rate. A leak computer can be included to instantaneously calculate gas leakage from the system. The system may be utilized in connection with conventional continuous positive airway pressure treatments, such as CPAP or bi-level positive airway pressure equipment to effect various beneficial treatment applications.
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Citations
43 Claims
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1. An apparatus for delivering pressurized gas to an airway of a patient, the apparatus comprising:
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a blower;
a conduit adapted to carry a flow of gas generated by the blower to the airway of the patient;
a sensor adapted to monitor a characteristic associated with the gas in the conduit or a flow of gas;
a signal related to the characteristic;
a pressure controller associated with at least one of the blower and the conduit to control a pressure of the gas in the conduit;
control means, responsive to the signal, for controlling the pressure controller so as to cause the gas to be delivered to a patient at a therapy pressure during at least a portion of a respiratory cycle, wherein the therapy pressure is a pressure sufficient to counter airway collapsing forces; and
a first selector unit, operatively connected to the control means, to select a first gain, wherein the control means controls the pressure controller so that the pressure of the gas in the conduit during at least a portion of a respiratory cycle is based on the first gain and the signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of providing pressured gas to an airway of a patient, the method comprising the steps of:
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supplying a flow of gas to an airway of a patient from a source of gas via a conduit;
monitoring a characteristic associated with the flow of gas;
providing signal related to the characteristic;
selecting a first gain; and
controlling the flow of gas to such a patient during at least a portion of a respiratory cycle based on the signal and the first gain so as to deliver the flow of gas to a patient at a therapy pressure, wherein the therapy pressure is a pressure sufficient to counter airway collapsing forces. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. An apparatus for delivering pressurized gas to an airway of a patient, comprising:
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a gas flow generator;
a conduit coupled to the gas flow generator to communicate a flow of gas from the gas flow generator with an airway of a patient;
a sensor associated that monitors a characteristic associated with the gas or the flow of gas in the conduit;
a signal related to the characteristic;
a pressure controller associated with the gas flow generator or the conduit to control a pressure of the gas in the conduit;
an input device; and
processing means, responsive to the signal, a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) setting, and an expiratory gain GainExp from the input device, for determining a pressure of the gas in the conduit during at least a portion of inhalation (Pinhalation) as;
Pinhalation=CPAP,and for determining a pressure of the gas in the conduit during at least a portion of exhalation (Pexhalation) as;
Pexhalation=CPAP+GainExp*(Flow−
FlowOffset),where “
Flow”
is the chracteristic monitored by the sensor, where “
FlowOffset”
corresponds to a final value of the characteristic inspiration responsive to the final value being positive, otherwise FlowOffest is set to zero, and wherein the processing means controls the pressure controller so as to deliver a pressure of the gas in the conduit corresponding to Pinhalation during at least a portion of an inspiratory phase of a breathing cycle and corresponding to Pexhalation during at least a portion of an expiratory phase of a breathing cycle.- View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method of delivering pressurized breathing gas to an airway of a patient, comprising:
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generating a flow of gas;
sensing a characteristic associated with a current flow (Flow) of the gas;
providing a signal related to the characteristic;
selecting an expiratory gain (GainExp);
setting a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) level;
controlling a pressure of the gas during at least a portion of inhalation (Pinhalation) as;
Pinhalation=CPAP;
andcontrolling the pressure of the gas during at least a portion of exhalation (Pexhalation) as;
Pexhalation=CPAP+GainExp*(Flow−
FlowOffset),where “
FlowOffset”
corresponds to a final value of the characteristic during inspiration responsive to the final value being positive, otherwise FlowOffest is set to zero. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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Specification