Patent ID: 7013892

Claim:
A system for delivering pressurized gas to an airway of a patient comprising: a pressure generating system; a conduit having a first end operatively coupled to the pressure generating and a second end; a patient interface operatively coupled to the second end of the conduit; a sensor operatively coupled to the pressure generating system, the conduit, or the patient interface, wherein the sensor is adapted to detect a parameter indicative of a patient breathing into the patient interface; and a processor operatively coupled to the sensor and the pressure generating system, wherein the processor determines whether a patient is breathing into the patient interface based on the output of the sensor, wherein the processor is programmed to activate the pressure generating system from a first state, in which the pressure generating system is deactivated, to a second state, in which the pressure generating system is activated and operated in accordance with a pressure support mode over multiple respiratory cycles, responsive a determination that such a patient is breathing into the patient interface.