초록 ▼

In the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea, a method and apparatus are disclosed for optimizing the controlled positive pressure to minimize the flow of air from a flow generator while still ensuring that flow limitation in the patient's airway does not occur. In particular, the invention relates t

In the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea, a method and apparatus are disclosed for optimizing the controlled positive pressure to minimize the flow of air from a flow generator while still ensuring that flow limitation in the patient's airway does not occur. In particular, the invention relates to a breathing device and method of use to adjust a controlled positive pressure to the airway of a patient by detecting flow limitation from analysis of an inspiratory flow waveform. Once the presence of flow limitation has been analyzed, the system determines an action to take for adjustment of the controlled positive pressure. The pressure setting is raised, lowered or maintained depending on whether flow limitation has been detected and on the previous actions taken by the system. The preferred breathing apparatus consists of a flow generator, a flow sensor, an analog to digital converter, a microprocessor, and a pressure controller, a patient supply hose, a nasal fitting, and, optionally, a pressure transducer. Using the method of the present invention, the microprocessor adjusts the air pressure in the patient supply hose when flow limitation is detected in the airway of the patient.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.]1. A method for detecting flow limitation in an airway of a patient breathing air in an unassisted manner, comprising the steps of:positioning a nasal fitting so as to be in fluid communication with such airway of said patient, to detect nasal flow in a quantitative manner

[ What is claimed is:] [1.]1. A method for detecting flow limitation in an airway of a patient breathing air in an unassisted manner, comprising the steps of:positioning a nasal fitting so as to be in fluid communication with such airway of said patient, to detect nasal flow in a quantitative manner;generating with a sensor in fluid communication with said nasal fitting a first set of data values representative of an inspiratory flow of ambient air at negative pressures to the patient;generating with a micro processor a plurality of indices, each independently descriptive of a waveform of the inspiratory flow at negative pressures in order to determine whether the first set of data values indicate a flow limitation in the patient and generating a second set of data values based on such indices representative of a flow limitation; andstoring in a computer memory the first set of data values generated by said flow sensor and the second set of data values generated by said microprocessor.