Method for preventing the generation of excessive high voltage

Method for preventing a high voltage circuit form generating excessive high voltage, wherein the method comprises the following steps: a) reading a digital representation of a reference value associated with one of a plurality of operation modes stored in a memory; b) verifying the integrity of the representation of the reference value; c) providing a sensed signal representing the output voltage of the high voltage circuit; d) comparing the sensed signal with the reference value; e) inhibiting the generation of the high voltage output if the comparison in step (d) indicates excessive high voltage.