[Product Review] Pulse Oximeter CMS 50H

[mjbearit]

Well this little jewel came in the mail today.  Now I have never bought one of these before so I have no comparison so please forgive me if I go over the obvious or whatever.

First, it arrived on time.  Always a plus.  Oh, I guess I should say I ordered this from #19.
Second, it came in a cardboard box, lots of packing material to protect it, and then when I got down to the actual equipment, it was in a metal box that is pretty darned rigid so no way this puppy got damaged!

This contained the oximeter a USB cable, a lanyard, a charging connecter so you can plug the USB cable straight into the AC outlet (in the US)..ohh!  I just realized I got a free gift!  I had to open the instructions to be sure and yep, it is a pedometer, but it is apparently one of those fancy ones that tells how many calories you burned...anyway, I digress (I just love free stuff!)

About the USB cable.  I noticed earlier someone complaining about the USB cable on another product being non-standard.  This USB cable has the standard USB connector on one end and the standard mini USB adapter on the other end.  I didn't even use the one they sent because I wanted to make sure for this review and sure enough I used a standard cable I already had plugged in and it worked like a champ!
On their website is some software that is version 2.1, but the package included a mini CD that included version 2.2 so I upgraded without trying out version 2.1 first.  Sorry guys!


The device arrived fully charged apparently, because I looked at the display after only a couple of minutes and it was full so...
It is the standard finger size, there is a "rubber" plug on the side concealing the USB port.  There is a button on the face to "force" an "On" condition, as this model has a VERY fast finger removed function that shuts it down very quickly when you take it off.  I'm not sure how that is going to work out long range.

I noticed a lag time of several seconds.  I held my breath to see and it took quite qwhile to start the SPO2 going down, but then it took a long time for it to come back up, so I believe the time frame is correct, it just lags.  That is okay with me.


The "Cool Feature"!  The display on this model transitions!  Depending on the orientation of your finger it display right side up, up side down or sideways.  Sounds cool, but frankly it is not a smooth transition so I found it irritating rather than cool.  But I'm picky.
Software.  Hmm.  A bit cumbersome.  Sorry but that is my opinion.  I know, but I am too lazy to write it myself!  I hate coding! LOL!  Oh..yeah...I'm in computers, but don't tell anyone!

Functionality, I will be using it over the next few nights and see what I think.  I may even get brave and take a bit of a nap without my machine to compare (the things I will do for a review!).  I will update this probably early next week or maybe late this weekend for the functionality.


Overall.  So far, I like.  It's gonna take some tape to keep this thing on my finger overnight I suspect, but....  Upside, love the new technology, like the readability of the display.  Downside, I think it turns off a little too quickly and I would like it more configurable.  I would also like to win the lottery.

 Overall, I'm happy at this point.
Mike

[PaulaO2]

So it came with a regular USB cable? the one for the 50D Plus is huge.

Here's pics I just took of it. Sorry for the quality. I don't have a real camera anymore and used the one from my iPod Touch.

(oops, I accidentally deleted the images)

[mjbearit]

It's hard to tell of course, but it looks like the big part is just the molded plastic/rubber. USB is USB. There are only a few USB connectors. Only 3 that I can think of, but I have not seen everything in this world! All I know is that it is a standard USB on one side and standard mini USB on the other. I promise! Now I think you seem to be relatively computer savvy so I'm sure you know that a USB connection can only go in one way, and no I am not trying to insult you, but if you don't know just trying to let you know. The size of the surrounding plastic/rubber only matter from a clearance perspective, like if you have 2 USB ports close together you may only be able to insert one if the molded part is massive like that one. Just a thought.

[PaulaO2]

Yes, it blocks a port next to it.

It is my understanding that it is so big because the 50D Plus (and others) are really serial which is why SpO2 says "Com port". It is so big because inside is the doohickey that 'translates' it from serial to USB.

Let us know how it works.

[mjbearit]

No, that is incorrect. There is nothing in the cable itself that creates COM port out of a USB connection. This is done via software/drivers. I have the same thing with a piece of equipment I use at work, and my Blood Glucose meter is the same (though that one is an odd cable). The software uses a Virtual COM port driver to allow the device to appear as an additional COM port. Usually this is done with products whose software was originally based on older technology and rather than scrap the old software and rewrite the entire thing (which can be costly) to the current hardware, they will add a driver to make the USB appear as a COM port and then they can simply concentrate on upgrading the software itself. It allows us to buy a new, better product for about $5.00 more than the old one, so while it might not be ideal, I'm all for saving the $$ if it works (which it does).
Mike

[mjbearit]

Okay, so continuing back on track here, the first night I tried to use this thing I was a bone head. I made the assumption that if it was showing the data, it was recording the data. Um...no. That is where I maybe should have read the instructions! Son last night I gave it another go. It was very uncomfortable to me to sleep with something on my finger. By the second night I grew accustomed to it so it did not bother me as much. I have large fingers and knew it was not going to stay on all night so I grabbed some medical paper tape and used that to hold the clip closed to ensure good contact with my finger and a loop around the finger to keep it from sliding out. This Oximeter like probably most has a PI% reading on it. This PI% in laymen terms is basically how good a reading you are going to get from the device. Does it have good skin contact? Is there a good strong pulse? things of that nature. Sometimes you can increase that number by trying a different finger or re-positioning the device on the finger you have chosen. The higher the PI%, the more reliable your readings will be. This device worked very well, the battery charge was more than sufficient for 7 hours of sleep and I have no issues with it at all. All in all, I would recommend this device for the price.
On a side note, it is nice to get this data since I have a dumb machine that gives me no data other than compliance data. I can tell my machine is working for me as there were few events (33) recorded over the course of the night. Realizing that events here are not necessarily apneas, but are desat events. Over 7 hours I only had 16 minutes of desat (drop of at least 4%) and only spent one minute below 88%. The way I felt before I became "re-compliant" I can only imagine where I was at before. Using your CPAP is like taking antibiotics....don't quit taking them just because you feel better! Trust me, it doesn't work!

[TorontoCPAPguy]

How far below 88%? I am titrating my infused O2 into my airline so as to keep about 95% all night and especially through REM sleep so that shallow breathing or OSA events do not put me in respiratory distress (anything below 89% I believe) and make my autonomic nervous system arouse me even if not awakening me. I have Atrial Fibrillation (now under control for the time being and in Normal Sinus Rhythm.... the body gets its full load of oxygenated blood like a champ); damaged lungs (from three weeks on total life support exactly three years ago from H1N1 and pneumonia); and OSA desats.

Desats, even if only one minute long, while you are sleeping are cause for worry. They may be indicative of other issues at play and they may CAUSE other issues to come into play, such as acute hypertension sufficient to cause a aneurism or a stroke if plaque breaks away and comes to rest in your brain. Desats are also major contributors to myocardial infarction, deep vein thrombosis and a host of other afflictions that we would rather not have visit.

So, as a well-educated non MD, I cannot overemphasize the urgency of every apnea sufferer or for that matter, anyone that wakes up at night in a sweat, to have and to use a recordning pulse oxymeter. The oxymeter will indicate desats. The pulse 'graph' will show you in vivid colour if you may be suffering from heart arryhtmias (and those need to be seen to immediately to determine the type and cause).

The story is an arm's length long and the best I can do is repeat myself again and suggest strongly that you educate yourself and be a strong advocate for yourself, not taking "no" for an answer. I also extend a personal warning that not all MD's are experts in these fields and you really need to find and see the best MD's in the best facilities possible in order to have the best chance for a correct diagnosis and survival.

I just had a giant cell carcinoma removed from my finger/hand two weeks ago. It had grown into my hand itself up my ring finger, through my knuckle (!) and back down the backside of my ring finger and into my hand again. Two educated prominent MD's said "don't worry about it... it's nothing" and poo-poo'd it. After a year I was referred to a top plastic surgeon who said "no tests... see you Friday to remove it with local anasthesia. The fifteen minute surgery turned into a 1.5 hour surgery in order to keep the finger and the use of same (I have lost much of the feeling due to nerve damage now, in order to get it out). SO, my point is simply that even prominent MD's can make huge errors. Educate yourself, advocate for yourself, don't take "no" for an answer and for goodness sake, be proactive!

[mjbearit]

Okay, I'm going to be honest with you. Because it is the end of a long day and I am tired after a full day and you seem to want a lot of answers, I'm going to try to answer this, having not had the attention span to read the whole thing. If you read my original post you will see that I stated "only one minute below 88%" Let's not start ringing the village church bells in alarm. This is an improvement over not using my machine. I feel pretty darned good most of the day up until late afternoon (like now) and then I start getting a short attention span and just a bit grumpy. Now this could be because I have OSA and it could be because I worked all day with a bunch of...well...never mind. As a matter of fact I do have a weird heart beat, I throw off so many PVCs that every time I am hooked up they end up killing the alarm because they can't take it! LOL! PVCs won't hurt you though. I've always been that way and will probably always be that way. Currently my BP is better than it has ever been with the last visit a week ago at 112/77, so in all honesty, I am definitely not concerned. We all have issues to deal with and I have a lot of other issues as well which means I am very well educated in how my body works, or more specifically does not work. I don't always follow the rules, but then again, most of the time that is an informed decision made for a reason. Sometimes it is because I am a hard-headed bugger who gets tired of the rules. Either way, it's all good. My concern about waking up in a sweat would be my blood sugar reading way before my SPO2 reading. I can lose a few IQ points and still be fine, but you can only go so far with blood sugar before it is lights out.

[sleepisgreat]

Is it even possible to have a plastic usb??haha I'm pretty sure that's a metal/rubber one!