Not long ago, I was diagnosed by my ENT doctor as having severe sleep apnea with an AHI of 60 and was loaned a APAP machine for about a week. From the trial therapy, I learned that my sleep apnea could benefit from using an APAP machine. So I set out to purchase an APAP machine.
After searching from the internet and from this board, I found the Airsense 10 is the newest in the market produced by ResMed, a reputable company in the field of sleep therapy.
I went ahead and buy the Airsense 10 from a US online supplier. As I have benefitted from Apneaboard, it is only proper that I share my experience and information with people who might benefit from my information on this relatively new device in the market.
The Airsense 10
When you switch on the Airsense 10, on the home screen you will see only 2 large simple icons of My Options and Sleep Report. Underneath the icons, lies a wealth of information. When you push the dial knob at the icons, you will see the following sub-menus:
HOME
MY OPTIONS
Ramp Time (Auto, 0-45 mins)
Climate Control (Auto, Manual)
Pressure Relief (On, Off)
Smart Start (On, Off)
Mask (Pillows, FullFace, Nasal)
Run Mask Fit (To test your face mask fit)
Run Warm Up (To test your humidifier warm up)
Airplane Mode (On, Off)
About (Device info, CX NUMBER, Humidifier info, Internal Modem info)
SLEEP REPORT
By default, the Sleep Report has only these 3 basic information on the device’s screen:
Usage hours
Mask seal (A smiley face or a frown face)
Humidifier (A smiley face or a frown face)
If you had activated Options/Essential in the Clinical setup (see below on how you can enter into the clinical setup), you will get more information on the device’s screen:
Usage Hours
Events per Hour
Mask seal (A smiley face or a frown face)
Humidifier (A smiley face or a frown face)
More Info:
Period (From 1 day to 6 months)
Days Used
Days 4Hours+
Average Usage (Hours)
Used Hours
Pressure (cmH2O)
Leak (L/min)
AHI (Apnea/Hyponea Index)
Total AI (Apnea Index)
Central AI (Apnea Index)
To enter into the Clinical Setup, you need to be on the Home page and press the turn knob and the Home Button simultaneously for 5 seconds. Then it will show you the Clinical Menu. Press settings and you will be able to enter into the following sub-menus to adjust the settings:
THERAPY
Mode (CPAP or Auto set)
Max Pressure (4-20)
Min Pressure (4-20)
Mask (Pillow, FullFace or Nasal)
COMFORT
Ramp Time (Auto – 45 mins)
Start Pressure (From 4.0)
EPR (On or Off)
EPR Type (Ramp Only or Full Time)
EPR Level ( 1 – 3)
Climate Control (Auto or Manual)
ACCESSORIES
AB Filter (No or Yes)
OPTIONS
Essential (Plus or on)
Smart Start (On or Off)
Reminders (Mask, Water Tub, Tube and Filter)
CONFIGURATION
Language (English, French, Spanish or Portuguese)
Date (Day/Month/Year)
Time (Hours/Mins)
Pressure Unit (cmH2O or hPa)
Temperature Unit (Farenheight or Centigrade)
Restore Default (No or Yes)
Erase Data (No or Yes)
About (Device no and run hours, CX No, Humidifier No and Internal Modem Details such as Serial No, Provider, Type, Service and signal)
Sleep Report Software
The ResScan 5.1 software works well with the Airsense 10 data. If you had installed the ResScan 5.1 software correctly (with the 3 drivers unchecked) onto your PC, the software will automatically recognize the SD Card as soon as you plug in the SD Card reader and ask you whether you would like to download the data in the SD Card.
After you have downloaded the data from your Airsense SD Card, the software will compile a detailed medical record viz:
1. Device settings of your Airsense 10 such as your minimum pressure, maximum pressure, EPR settings, the Ramp time and whether the essentials (detailed information) are set on.
2. Statistics of your sleep report from 1 day to 6 months showing your total usage of your device, your respiratory Indices (Apnea/Hypopnea index differentiating between Obstructive and central apnea), Leakage (L/min) and your Pressure (Median, 95th percentile and Maximum in cmH2O)
3. A Summary Graph of your Usage, AHI and AI, Total Usage & Cheyne-Stokes Hours, Leakage (L/min) and Pressure (cmH2O).
4. A detailed graph of (3) above.
5. Oximetry Statistics if you have installed an optional oximetry device to your Airsense.
I understand at this moment the SleepyHead software has not yet been updated to Airsense 10. Maybe in the near future, the maker of the software will update it to include Airsense 10 which will enable the layman to understand the complicated sleep analysis better.
Costs
The price quoted by ResMed in my country is exorbitant – almost like 130% more than what I would have purchased from the US with air-courier charges included. It took 5 days for the device to be air-couriered from USA to my country in Malaysia.
I made a search on the internet from several online suppliers. Do note that the majority of the US suppliers have restrictions like requiring a medical prescription and restriction on selling to countries outside the USA. So if you are staying outside US, do ask from them whether the restrictions apply to you. They all have excellent Online Chat where they answer to your enquiries in real-time.
The prices of the Airsense 10 (and the masks) from all these online suppliers are about the same (Around US$923 with heated climate-line tube without the CPAP mask). Price wise on the device itself, you will be alright if you choose any good and reputable online suppliers who would likely be around in the long term. However, there can be some significant savings on the courier charges between these suppliers if you are staying outside USA. So, do take note and enquire on the air courier charges.
In the end, I chose 1800CPAP because not only are their air-courier charges the cheapest (About US$64 using FedEx from Ohio, USA to my house in Malaysia), they are the most convenient among the lot for me. They do not require doctor’s prescription for oversea customers and they don’t have restriction in selling to countries outside USA.
Information and Software Download
There are much information and wealth of materials including software available on this website. Like me, if you are inflicted with this sleep disorder, do read this forum and equip yourself with the necessary information to overcome it.
You can download the ResScan 5.1 software from this forum (thank you, Apneaboard, I certainly benefited from it). However, you may need to register yourself as member first
[At first I posted the links to the various thread in this forum for easy reference/retrieval but could not because I have less than 8 posts...sorry guys]
Conclusion
I hope you will find the above information useful to you. I am quite new in this forum and in using this device. If you have any technical questions, I am sure the rest of the more knowledgeable and experienced forumers could help you out.
For starters, suggestions on the most beneficial way to set up the settings in the Clinical Setup Menu above would be a tremendous help to all newbies.
Happy exploring your Airsense 10!