S9 Wireless Module, Internal Memory, and SD Card

[JerryG]

Hi,
New member with a week-old ResMed S9 frustrated with bad info from what should be good sources. I apologize for my first post sounding more like a rant than a hello.

Supplier outfitted me with a ResMed Wireless Module (which he called a modem?) for the purposes of downloading my data and uploading occasional setpoint changes to my machine per docs instructions. Being leery of sleeping with an antennae a foot from my head, I removed it with intentions of putting it back at appropriate times.

A week later I called doc for advice. He wanted to see data, so requested a download from the DME. I reinstalled the module in advance.

Word came back to me from doc that data was not in the module because I had disconencted it.

I called ResMed.
The tech help person told me:
1) Wireless Module does not record or store data. It sends data stored on internal S9 memory on a once-a-day schedule.

2) The SD card is a portable backup. It is not the primary memory for the S9, which is internal and holds a years worth of sleep data. No problem if that card goes bad. Just replace it and nothing is lost.

3) No matter how long the Wireless module has been disconnected, when reconnected it can send all the data on the s9's internal memory.

Later on that day the DME "somehow" produced the rest of my data and forwarded it to doc.

I'm disappointed in docs imperfect knowledge of how this hardware works, and concerned about how my data dissapeared for several hours.

The bright spot in this was the ResMed employee who seemed to know her stuff. She was the only one who made sense, and I believe her points 1,2, and 3 above are correct.

BTW, therapy is going great so far. Machine is much better (quieter and Autoset) than my old S8!

[jgjones1972]

I'm glad the therapy is going well.

The ResMed Rep is right on all counts. I would like to point out though that the machine doesn't actually store the high resolution wave-form data, so you have to have the SD card inserted to get that, it is written directly to the card, but not stored on the machine. That being said, everything should be on the SD card and everything the Doctor or RT would probably look at is stored on the card and on the machine. The modem doesn't have anything to do with storage, just transmitting what is stored and receiving data to be written to the machine (they can change the settings remotely when the modem is attached). I'm guessing what happened is that the modem is set to send the data on a regular basis, but not constantly or in real time. The DME was expecting data to have been coming in regularly (even though he wasn't looking at it) and it hadn't. When you connected the modem it probably wasn't the programmed time to send data until the DME had already tried to look at it - then at some point (probably pre-determined daily time) the modem transmitted and the data miraculously appeared.

BTW, if you have an AutoSet you might want to put that in your profile instead of just "S9". Some S9s aren't capable of providing sleep quality data (i.e. S9 Escape and S9 Escape Auto). Also, you can use the SD card on your machine to transfer data to your computer via any SD card reader and then look at all of it yourself in graphs, etc. using ResMed's free program "ResScan" or the free open source program "Sleepy Head". You can find the instructions for downloading these programs in the "Private Files & Links" section in the "Private Area" of the forum.

[RonWessels]

It seems like you answered your own question.

The Wireless Module sends data once-per-day. However, when you disconnected it, it obviously could not do so. So, you ask your doctor, who asks the DME, who looks at all the data sent to them thus far, and sees nothing. But, with the Wireless Module now connected, that day's daily send time arrives and all of the missing data is sent. The DME looks again at all the data sent, and lo and behold, it's all there, so it can be forwarded to your doctor.

The only flaw in what you had been told, which could even have been a misunderstanding in communication, is that it was the DME's database and not the Wireless Module that did not have the data at the time it was checked.

At least you have a doctor that wants to see actual data. There are horror stories of other doctors that won't even look at the data.

[ Whoops, it looks like both jgjones1972 and I replied at the same time. At least we're saying the same thing. ]

[trish6hundred]

Hi JerryG,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
What everyone has said thus far.
GREAT to hear that your CPAP therapy is going well.

[Shastzi]

This is another good example of why we, as patients, need to learn to administer to our own data and be vigilent.
The doctors cannot be expected to do this.

You need to be able take care of yourself, in case no one else does.

[JerryG]

[quote='jgjones1972' pid='39121' dateline='1372197670']

...
The ResMed Rep is right on all counts. I would like to point out though that the machine doesn't actually store the high resolution wave-form data, so you have to have the SD card inserted to get that, it is written directly to the card, but not stored on the machine.
...

Thanks for all the suggestions, JG.
Can you tell me more about the high resolution wave-form data?
I've downloaded ResScan (and I will update my profile). Is that what I'm seeing when I select the "detailed graphs" tab?

[JerryG]

The Wireless Module sends data once-per-day. However, when you disconnected it, it obviously could not do so. So, you ask your doctor, who asks the DME, who looks at all the data sent to them thus far, and sees nothing. But, with the Wireless Module now connected, that day's daily send time arrives and all of the missing data is sent. ...

At least you have a doctor that wants to see actual data. There are horror stories of other doctors that won't even look at the data.

Understand the source of confusion about the missing data, thanks.
Good point about the doc. I suppose wireless communications is not the usual stuff of a medical curriculum.

[jgjones1972]

Can you tell me more about the high resolution wave-form data?
I've downloaded ResScan (and I will update my profile). Is that what I'm seeing when I select the "detailed graphs" tab?

Yep. The detailed data shows exactly what's happening breath by breath for the duration of the treatment. Pick which ever night you want to look at from the list to the left and you'll get the charts for that particular night. This is the data written directly to the SD card, so you won't get it if you leave the card out during treatment.

[JerryG]

Hi JerryG,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
GREAT to hear that your CPAP therapy is going well.

Thanks for your good wishes, Trish.

[RonWessels]

One thing to watch for with ResMed devices is that they only keep 7 days worth of detailed data. It erases detailed data older than that and only keeps the summary data. So if you haven't downloaded the data to your computer within the 7 day limit, the detailed data will be lost.