Patent ID: 7748493

Claim:
An automated respiration stimulation apparatus, comprising: a detector configured to measure a respiratory cycle of a user; an acoustic stimulator configured to automatically apply an audible stimulation to the user's acoustic nerve to interrupt a disturbance in the respiratory cycle of the user in response to the detection of the disturbance as indicated by the respiratory cycle measurements of the detector; and a control device configured to receive and analyze an output signal from the detector to detect the disturbance in the respiratory cycle of the user and cause the stimulator to automatically apply the stimulation to the user in response to detection of the disturbance, the control device including a stimulator control circuit for selectively operating the stimulator and limiting the audible stimulation applied by the stimulator to a level that prevents full arousal of the user; wherein the apparatus is configured to automatically apply the stimulation to the user to interrupt the disturbance in the respiratory cycle of the user without causing a full arousal of the user.