Sleep apnea treatment system and improvements thereto

A valve structure for treating a patient suffering from obstructive sleep apnea is provided. The valve structure is connected to an air flow generator and connected to a mask that covers at least the nostrils of a patient. The valve structure includes a housing with an inlet pressure port connected to the air flow generator, and an ambient pressure port. Within the housing is an expiratory membrane, an expiratory valve seat, an inspiratory membrane, an inlet pressure valve seat, an inspiratory valve seat, and an inspiratory membrane segmentation structure configured to segment the movement of the inspiratory membrane into at least a first portion and a second portion. An expiratory valve in fluid connection with the inlet pressure port is formed by the expiratory membrane and the expiratory valve seat. An inlet pressure valve is formed by the inlet pressure valve seat and the first portion of the inspiratory membrane. An inspiratory valve is formed by the inspiratory valve seat and the second portion of the inspiratory membrane.