Apnea Board Forum - CPAP | Sleep Apnea
Auto CPAP settings vs Auto BiPAP settings - Printable Version

+- Apnea Board Forum - CPAP | Sleep Apnea (https://www.apneaboard.com/forums)
+-- Forum: Public Area (https://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Forum-Public-Area)
+--- Forum: Main Apnea Board Forum (https://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Forum-Main-Apnea-Board-Forum)
+--- Thread: Auto CPAP settings vs Auto BiPAP settings (/Thread-Auto-CPAP-settings-vs-Auto-BiPAP-settings)



Auto CPAP settings vs Auto BiPAP settings - thasan26 - 05-06-2016

Hello everyone,

I have a settings questions for DreamStation CPAP Auto and DreamStation BiPAP Auto.

If your DreamStation CPAP Auto settings are:
Min Pressure: 5
Max Preseure: 15
A-Flex: 1

What would be an "equivalent" settings for DreamStation BiPAP Auto?
Are the following BiPAP Auto settings would work the same way as the CPAP Auto settings mentioned above?

Min EPAP: 5
Max IPAP: 15
PS Min: 0
PS MAX: 1





RE: Auto CPAP settings vs Auto BiPAP settings - robysue - 05-06-2016

(05-06-2016, 11:05 AM)thasan26 Wrote: Hello everyone,

I have a settings questions for DreamStation CPAP Auto and DreamStation BiPAP Auto.

If your DreamStation CPAP Auto settings are:
Min Pressure: 5
Max Preseure: 15
A-Flex: 1

What would be an "equivalent" settings for DreamStation BiPAP Auto?
Are the following BiPAP Auto settings would work the same way as the CPAP Auto settings mentioned above?

Min EPAP: 5
Max IPAP: 15
PS Min: 0
PS MAX: 1
Not quite, but close. I would say these settings for the DreamStation BiPAP Auto will mimic the CPAP Auto more precisely:

Min EPAP = 5
Max IPAP = 15
PS Min = 0
PS Max = 0
Bi-Flex = 1

Bi-Flex mimics the way A-Flex works much better than max PS=1 does.

Here's why:

A-Flex does NOT reduce the pressure by a fixed amount on each exhalation. The amount it reduces the pressure by can vary anywhere from about 0.5cm to 2.5cm based on the force of the exhalation as well as the Flex setting. In general if the force of the exhalation is the same, the decrease will be greater with a higher flex setting. But it's possible that a very strong exhalation with A-Flex=1 will still result in a drop of more than 1cm of pressure. A very small exhalation, however, will result in a minimal drop of 0.5 cm.

Bi-Flex works the same way on the BiPAP: It reduces the pressure to below the EPAP pressure. The drop pressure by can vary anywhere from about 0.5cm to 2.5cm below EPAP and it is based on the force of the exhalation as well as the Bi-Flex setting. In general if the force of the exhalation is the same, the decrease will be greater with a higher flex setting. But it's possible that a very strong exhalation with Bi-Flex=1 will still result in a drop of more than 1cm of pressure below EPAP. A very small exhalation will result in a minimal drop of 0.5 cm below EPAP.

By setting PS min = PS max = 0, you're making the BiPAP effectively work as a CPAP Auto. By setting Bi-Flex = 1, you're mimicking the A-Flex=1 setting.