[News] RECALL THREAD-- IMPORTANT PHILIPS DREAMSTATION & SYSTEM ONE USERS

[Guilhermedico]

Have you looked at OSCAR to see if for the nights the humidifier wasn't functioning to confirm the settings you initially did are there and not some defaults?

Great idea, @StratCat48! So, I just checked OSCAR.

For last week, from when I installed the refurbished PR Auto BiPAP unit, OSCAR shows the humidifier and heated 15 mm diameter tubing as "connected". Of course, that's what the professional menu settings showed too, but the device wasn't providing any power to the humidifier or tubing to operate properly during that week.

OSCAR shows that I began last week at a heating level of 3 for both the humidifier and the tubing, a level I chose when I set up the refurbished machine. Later in the week, it indicates that I cranked up both the tubing and humidifier to a level 5. It is true that I increased the heating level of both peripherals to see if it would make any difference. However, the higher level didn't result in any heating of either the tubing or the humidifier.

Interestingly, OSCAR indicates that, on the first night of using the refurbished unit with the cellular modem installed, the tubing and humidifier changed from 5 to 4! I seem to recall that, around the time in June 2021, when I registered my original PR Auto BiPAP machine for the recall and replacement, I was using a heating level of 4 for both the tubing and the humidifier.

So, I'm thinking that those heating levels may have been downloaded to the refurbished unit in conjunction with activating the humidifier and heated tubing after I installed the cellular modem and pressed the "Upload" button.

[Guilhermedico]

You can test that out by removing the modem and see if they stop running or continue to operate normally.

@btreger, that's an interesting idea! 

I also noticed that there is a software switch in the patient menus under "My Setup" where you can turn the modem on or off. 

While I don't relish the thought of having a dry throat and hoarse voice on the morning after either switching off or removing the cellular modem, my curiosity level is high enough that I am tempted to try the modem software switch on one night and the physical removal of the cellular modem on another night to see if the humidifier and tubing are still being heated by the connection with the refurbished Auto BiPAP machine.

[aquanaut20]

April 25 2020

Finally received my replacement DreamStation 1 (incl 3 yr warranty)

[WakeUpTime]

Today, April 26th, would seem to be the second anniversary of the formal disclosure announcement by Philips of their Recall of their many faulty-foam devices.  Non-formal Philips disclosure had been made well prior to this date.

April 26, 2021: Recall initiated
Philips’ first recall notification involved specific Philips bi-level positive airway pressure (bi-level PAP), continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and mechanical ventilator devices due to potential risks related to the polyester-based polyurethane (PE-PUR) sound abatement foam component in the devices.

It's interesting that after 730 days, many Recalled Philips device owners remain unresolved, in the U.S. and globally.

[Guilhermedico]

One thought is that by having the modem installed it is completing a circuit that the humidifier and tubing require to operate.
You can test that out by removing the modem and see if they stop running or continue to operate normally.

I also noticed that there is a software switch in the patient menus under "My Setup" where you can turn the modem on or off. 
I am tempted to try the modem software switch on one night and the physical removal of the cellular modem on another night to see if the humidifier and tubing are still being heated by the connection with the refurbished Auto BiPAP machine.

@btreger: So, I turned the Modem to "Off" in software, i.e., in the "My Setup" patient menu, before I went to bed last night. Both the heated humidifier and tubing continued to work properly last night.
Tonight I'll try your suggestion of removing the cellular modem hardware entirely to see if the circuit from the refurbished PR Auto BiPAP machine to the humidifier and heated tubing is still functioning.

[btreger]

Today, April 26th, would seem to be the second anniversary of the formal disclosure announcement by Philips of their Recall of their many faulty-foam devices.  Non-formal Philips disclosure had been made well prior to this date.


It's interesting that after 730 days, many Recalled Philips device owners remain unresolved, in the U.S. and globally.

Time has just flown by. Thanks for the reminder.

Here are a few of the impacts we have witnessed over this time period:

Thousands of plaintiffs have filed suit against the company, spanning hundreds of personal injury claims, requests for medical monitoring for people who used the recalled devices, and reimbursement for the economic losses that some users say they experienced due to the recall.

Philips is currently going through a company-wide restructuring effort

Those efforts began last fall, just a few days into Jakobs’ tenure at the helm when he announced alongside lower-than-expected third-quarter earnings that about 4,000 workers would be laid off. The affected employees would come from all across the company, he said at the time, with Philips’ biggest employee bases—in the U.S., the Netherlands, India, and China, in descending order—taking the proportionally biggest hits.

Just a few months later, alongside a full-year earnings report released in January, Jakobs said another 6,000 jobs had been added to the chopping block. Together, those 10,000 cuts add up to about 13% of the company’s workforce, which had counted 78,000 workers as of the end of 2021.

The layoffs will be staggered through 2025, but have already begun: In Monday’s earnings report, Jakobs said that about 5,400 cuts have already been made, adding, “I realize that we are asking a lot from our employees to work through the necessary changes and deeply appreciate their tremendous efforts and ongoing commitment to deliver on our company purpose.”

[ST Dog]

It's interesting that after 730 days, many Recalled Philips device owners remain unresolved, in the U.S. and globally.

Not at all surprising given gne magnitude of the recall. Even ignoring the SystemOne devices this was 5-6 years of production. Add in SystemOne and it's 15+ years worth of machines.

Even if they had an approved plan (they didn't)  and started then (they didn't) it would be unlikely to repair/replace that many machines in the time passed.

For comparison, an automotive recall I dealt with was much fewer vehicles and it took nearly 2 years to get enough parts to dealers to fix all the affected vehicles (9 months to even start repairs). This recall could start a fire under the hood with the vehicle off. Their suggestion was to park outside, away from other structures ams later to disconnect the battery.

[TonyJ]

April 25 2020

Finally received my replacement DreamStation 1  (incl 3 yr warranty)

Did your machine come directly from Phillips?

[Guilhermedico]

One thought is that by having the modem installed it is completing a circuit that the humidifier and tubing require to operate.
You can test that out by removing the modem and see if they stop running or continue to operate normally.

Guilhermedico
So, I turned the Modem to "Off" in software, i.e., in the "My Setup" patient menu, before I went to bed last night. Both the heated humidifier and tubing continued to work properly last night.
Tonight I'll try your suggestion of removing the cellular modem hardware entirely to see if the circuit from the refurbished PR Auto BiPAP machine to the humidifier and heated tubing is still functioning.

@btreger: So, I removed the cellular modem last night from the refurbished PR Auto BiPAP unit. This morning, the heated tubing was warm to touch and the humidification chamber was also warm and nearly empty.
It seems that installation of the cellular modem was requisite to having the humidifier and heated tubing operate properly with the refurbished PR DreamStation AutoBiPAP machine. But, once the circuit to those heating elements was working, it appears that the cellular modem is no longer required to keep them functioning.
This doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.   That said, I will keep the cellular modem safely stored in its box just in case the heated tubing and humidifier stop working again.

[btreger]

This doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.   That said, I will keep the cellular modem safely stored in its box just in case the heated tubing and humidifier stop working again.

Good news, not much logic. I see no point in additional speculation. At some point, you might want to consider changing those settings from manual to auto and letting your machine adjust to your specific environment.