APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR PROVIDING HUMIDITY IN RESPIRATORY THERAPY

摘要

The present invention provides respiratory therapy apparatus (10) that introduces water into the pressurized air delivered to a user (12) during various positive airway pressure therapies. The respiratory therapy apparatus may be configured to administer one or more positive airway pressure therapies, including: continuous positive airway pressure therapy (CPAP), bi-level positive airway pressure therapy (BPAP), auto positive airway pressure therapy (autoPAP), proportional positive airway pressure therapy (PPAP), and/or other positive airway pressure therapies. The respiratory therapy apparatus may include a user interface (40) that defines an interface passage (74) to communicate pressurized air to the user for inhalation and a humidifier (90) that introduces water into the pressurized air generally at the interface passage.