US Patent 7343917 Clear cycle for ventilation device

A method and apparatus are used to perform a clear cycle. The apparatus includes a flow generator in fluid communication with a patient interface via a conduit arranged in a flow path, and sensors to monitor pressures in the flow path. The method includes examining a plurality of operational parameters, determining whether the flow generator should generate flow based on at least one of the plurality of operational parameters, warning the patient to avoid interfacing with the patient interface of the ventilation device prior to generating the flow, and operating the flow generator to generate the flow in accordance with at least one of the plurality of operational parameters. The clear cycle can dislodge debris or water condensate from the flow path. The clear cycle can incorporate fault detection to diagnose debris in the flow path. The clear cycle can be installed as software in a ventilation device.