(04-07-2014, 07:20 PM)Bruno2 Wrote: I was reading about one of these machines today. I was understanding that this unit sets the pressure automatically?
Yes, they can be set to adjust the pressure automatically
Quote:So is there no need to set the pressure for the prescription?
I wouldn't go that far. Most people are more comfortable when the Auto range is NOT left wide open (4-20cm). And the pressure prescription is usually the starting point. Most people set the Auto range to be from about 2cm below their titrated pressure to 1 or 2 cm above their titrated pressure.
Quote:Is this a good unit?
The Resmed S9 AutoSet is a top of the line machine. It's an excellent unit.
Quote:It collects data with a card of some sort?
The S9 AutoSet uses a standard SD card to collect the data.
Quote:What kind of data does it collect and what is it used for?
The S9 collects the following data:
- Detailed wave flow data---you can see a trace of every breath you took all night long if you want to
- Event data: What kind of events you had, when you had them, and (at least for the apneas) how long they lasted. The machine also calculates the AHI = (number of events detected)/(time the machine was running). It also records data about flow limitations and snoring, both of which are considered precursors to potential sleep disordered breathing events.
- Leak data: Median, 95%, and Max leaks rates are available. You can also see a graph of the leak line so you can figure out when the leaks occurred, how large they were, and how long they lasted. The machine's LCD also has a nice, easy to use, mask fit indicator that tells you when the leaks were clearly both large enough and long enough to affect the quality of your therapy.
- Pressure data: The pressure curve shows you when the machine decided to increase the pressure and when it decided to lower the pressure. In conjunction with the wave flow data, the event flags, the flow limitation graph, and the snoring graph you can figure out what kinds of things caused the machine to increase the pressure.
- Usage data: The hours you used the machine
As to how all this data is used: It depends on the doc and yourself.
Some docs only look at usage and not much else. Other docs look at the overall AHI and leak numbers as well as usage. Some docs will drill down and look at the distribution of events---how many CAs, OAs, and Hs are there?
Likewise patients are different in how much they look at the data. If things are going along really well and you're feeling fine, you might not look at any data in detail. If you are not feeling fine, the data is there in case you
want to look at it. And then there are the data geeks who look at everything every day. It just depends.
And some patients use the data to figure out when they may need to call the doc. A lot of patients look at the data to figure out what questions they have for the doc at a regularly scheduled appointment. Some will ask the doc some pretty specific questions about the therapeutic settings for the machine. And a few brave souls look at data and make their own changes based on what they see in the data.
