Patent ID: 6932084

Claim:
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.