Patent ID: 8579829

Claim:
A breathing monitoring system, comprising: a) a first temperature sensor arranged to measure a patient's breathing-gas temperature; b) a second temperature sensor arranged to measure an ambient temperature; and c) a controller programmed to: i) determine a plurality of breathing-gas temperatures over a time interval using a first set of signals received from the first temperature sensor; ii) determine at least one ambient temperature during said time interval using a second signal received from the second temperature sensor; iii) compute a maximum breathing-gas temperature and a minimum breathing-gas temperature from said first set of signals; iv) calculate a difference between said maximum and minimum breathing-gas temperatures (“ΔTm”); v) compute a temperature threshold difference (“threshold ΔTm”) as a function of the ambient temperature; and vi) compare the threshold ΔTm to said ΔTm to determine a breathing status of said patient.