System One A60 - Is this machine any good

Hi all,

I am being offered an ex-rental machine - Philips System one A60 - I have searched here and on some of the online retailers for this model and cannot find information on it which makes me think it might be a bit ancient/outdated. Looking for a cpap with data capability and not excessively noisy/heavy.

Any opinions appreciated,

thanks,
Alison.

Here is the info on this machine:

CPAP REMStar Auto A-Flex System One 60 Series - Philips Respironics

The REMStar Auto A-Flex System One CPAP adjusts all therapy according to the patient's therapeutic needs due to changes in lifestyle or disease progression.

It has 4 modalities of therapy:

CPAP: Fixed pressure mode, regulated according to medical prescription;
Auto - CPAP: Automatic pressure mode, which adjusts according to the needs of the patient;
Auto - Trial: Mode limited to a number of days defined by your doctor (3-30 days). This mode provides CPAP therapy while automatically adjusting the pressure level to suit your needs. After the days selected by the doctor, the mode switches to CPAP-Check alone (fixed pressure CPAP);
CPAP - Check: This mode makes a regulation every 30 hours of use, adjusting the pressure ± 3 cm H2O according to the index of obstructive events;
Flex technology:

Thanks to the advanced Digital Auto-Trak algorithm , it can detect the onset of inspiration and expiration to provide correct pressure relief values ​​at the right moment, making it easier for patients to adapt to therapy.

Opti - Start function: "Automatic cloth"

Every 30 hours of Auto-CPAP therapy, the ideal initial pressure will be calculated from the 90% pressure you have used in the previous 30 hours. Thus, the initial pressure is more appropriate to initiate therapy every night. This feature can be turned on or off depending on your home care provider.

Humidity Control Humidification System One:

The CPAP 60 Series Auto A-flex can be retrofitted to the 60 Series Humidity Control humidifier with sensor technology inside and outside the CPAP machine that closely monitors changes in humidity and prevents condensation from forming inside the pipe. In addition, it has Dry Box technology , to prevent leakage.

Information Storage:

Storage system is made on a 2GB SD memory card , in addition to displaying the data through the machine's display and network installation availability It has flow curve reports, event detection and adhesion.

Items Included:

01 CPAP System One Auto with A-Flex 60 Series - Philips Respironics
01 SD Memory Card 1GB (one gigabyte) of memory
01 Respironics Carrying Case
01 Trachea (tubing) of 1.8 meters
01 Power Cable
01 Power Supply
01 Patient Handbook

Hi Alison,

It's important to get the name right - so that you can be given a good answer. I haven't ever seen 'A60'.

There are several models made by Philips Respironics in the System One series. The best way to identify a machine is to turn it upside down and look at the label on the bottom.

There's a box with REF beside it. What's in the box is the correct reference number.

Rick Blaine - thanks - i do not have access to the machine - I'm dealing with the rental company by email... I will ask for more info.

BTS - thanks for the info. I will compare this to the Dreamstation CPAP spec which is the machine I was considering from another supplier.

thanks both for all your help

How do you see using the A60? Replacement, back up, travel, etc.? If correct, I think it is a BiPAP machine, not an APAP or CPAP - it is automatic, but I don't know if it can be configured as APAP or CPAP rather than BiPAP. I think the 60 series machines were the immediate predecessors of the DreamStation so they are not truly ancient. AFAIK the A60 is fully data capable and should integrate easily into a SleepyHead data set with your DreamStation. My major concern would be price vs hours/condition of the A60 along with what comes with it (does it include the humidifier, heated hose, travel case, etc.). I don't know what consumables such as filters are common between the two machines, but I suspect not many. Given that it was a rental, I would seriously try to evaluate how well it was treated and how many users and hours in the machine's history - especially hours. It could be many or few - like a economy car rental at a busy airport, it might have been constantly out on rental with little downtime for maintenance. If you don't need the BiPAP capability, you might look on Craigslist or SecondWind for an alternative that might fit you just as well or better at a very competitive price.

Edit with information from a Portugese website by way of Google Translate: https://translate.google.com/translate? ... rev=search

Philips Respironics System One A60

The BiPAP Auto System One BiFlex is designed to improve the quality of life of patients. A wide range of modes of ventilation, from the fully controlled to the spontaneous, flexibility in the treatment and adaptation of the patient. It provides efficient, comfortable and non-invasive ventilation for patients with obstructive sleep apnea and chronic respiratory failure, such as those with COPD, obesity hypoventilation, and neuromuscular disease.
Automatic: Self-adjusting two-level device.
Comfort: It has the comfort of Bi-Flex Technology. Increases patient comfort through pressure relief.
Data storage: Advanced event detection via SD memory card.
Bi-Flex Technology:
Combines automatic pressure delivery with Bi-Flex Relief breath to breath:
Smooths the application of pressure during inspiration
Reduces the application of pressure in the transition to expiration
Provides variable pressure relief at the beginning of the expiratory phase
Return to prescribed EPAP level before end of expiratory phase
Pressure relief occurs at the following critical stages:
EPAP To IPAP
IPAP for EPAP
During expiration
Resistance Control:
The new resistance control system delivers optimized pressure regardless of the mask used.
Advanced Event Detection:
Identification of the complicated and transient conditions that may indicate an alternative therapy. Monitors apnea, hypopnea, flow limitation, snoring, leakage. Monitors and recognizes RERA (arousal related to respiratory effort). Periodic breathing such as the Cheyne-Stokes, and also distinguishes obstructive apnea from unobstructed airway apnea, informing when advanced therapy may be necessary.
Humidity Control Humidification System One:
The BIPAP System One can be adapted to the System One Moisture Control humidifier with sensor technology inside and outside the CPAP machine that closely monitors changes in humidity and prevents the formation of condensation inside the tube. In addition, it has Dry Box technology , to prevent leakage.
Information Storage:
More complex patient management system, has information storage with advanced event detection on a 2GB SD memory card , and displays data through the machine's display and network installation availability. It has flow curve reports, event detection and adherence. Advanced detection of events such as apnea-hypopnea index (IAH), flow limitation (LF), RERA, snoring, leakage, clear airway apnea (CA), obstructive apnea (AO), hypopnea (HI) and periodic breathing (RP), advanced event response (LF, RERA, RONCO, leak, AO, HI) and System One resistance control.
Ramp Resource:
The ramp features allow a period of 0 to 45 minutes with patient adjustable ramp start pressure. The underside pads resist slippage to prevent device movement during sleep.
Items included:
01 SD Memory Card 1GB (one gigabyte) of memory
01 Respironics Carrying Case
01 Trachea (tubing) of 2 meters
01 Power Cable
01 Power Supply
02 Reusable Foam Filters - Respironics
01 Ultrafilter Filter - Respironics
01 Patient Handbook

EXACTLY which model number are we talking about here?
Model number is a 3 or 4 digit number on a sticker on the bottom of the blower unit and might have DS or REF in front or behind the digits.

Where are you located? The term "A60" isn't a commonly used model term and probably why you can't find much information on it.

The Respironics System One 60 series machines were the models that were discontinued when the DreamStation models were released....so at least 3 or 4 years old now. I forget just how long it has been since the release of the DreamStation model line.

If it is model number 560/561 then it is the PR System One CPAP Auto with AFlex and the prior model of the machine you are now showing in your equipment profile. Older version.
Ex rental....ask how many machine/run hours it has been used when you ask for the model number.

This site is good to help you see the different machines. https://sleep.tnet.com/cmd When you find the Ref# you can search for the specific machine with that number. An important thing is to also ask to see the run hours for the machine.

Where is the rental company located and where are you? The only information I could find came from European sources - it could be the model number is not common to the US market but used in Europe.

In digging a bit deeper, I have come to believe the A60 is a single series designator divided into subsets based on configuration: C-Flex for CPAP, A-Flex for APAP and Bi-Flex for BiPAP. Thus, you would have to determine which of these terms apply to the machine you are considering to learn which of the three it is. Having that information will determine its usefulness to you. The three versions should match the common US equivalent models completely.

walon44 wrote: ↑

Tue May 22, 2018 10:08 am

Rick Blaine - thanks - i do not have access to the machine - I'm dealing with the rental company by email... I will ask for more info.

BTS - thanks for the info. I will compare this to the Dreamstation CPAP spec which is the machine I was considering from another supplier.

thanks both for all your help

As for the REF number on the bottom... that'll tell us what it actually is.

If it's a System One Auto APAP it was a good machine (my first--I used it for 6 years). It's a little noisy--not much and delivers good therapy. However, there is a KNOWN problem with the humidifiers burning out after about 3 years, so you should make sure that the humidifier is working.

Thank you all for your valuable input. I am looking for this as my fulltime machine - so that I don't have to continue the expensive monthly rental. I am in ireland.

I requested the REF model no. from the bottom and was told its '561T' which is not yielding much for me in a google search.

It does include filters and humidifier and has 178 hours usage, but only a 3 month warrranty.

I can most likely get a reconditioned Dreamstation with humifidier shipped over from secondwindcpap for similar money so my gut is telling me to hold on till one of those becomes available, rather than go with this mystery A60 machine.

update, when I search the sleep.tnet.com database for 561 rather than 561T I get this model which is indeed a system one:

PR System One REMStar 60 Series Auto CPAP Machine

https://sleep.tnet.com/cmd/unit?id=32

looks like a good machine

560 usually means the machine was destined for the USA.
561 usually means destined for some other place in the world.
The letters at the end of the whatever 3 digits pertain to how it was packaged in the box with or without a humidifier/heated hose. So mainly a product packaging thing and doesn't really mean much. There's a list somewhere at Respironics with the packaging codes but I lost the link that I had and it doesn't mean all that much anyway. The important part in terms of exactly which model it is ....the first 3 digits.

Didn't know you were renting. Don't blame you for wanting a cheaper forever machine to use.
Secondwind has a used model 560 with humidifier for $369. I don't know how that compares with where you were looking at or shipping costs but when I have sent machines internationally...around $75 but check with secondwind for exact cost.
They are showing the same model (again used) in the DreamStation line with humidifier for $479.

Pugsy as always a font of knowledge.

I will pay $85 for shipping which makes both of those attractive options, especially as the warranties are longer than the 3 months I'm being offered by supplier here.

thank you all for your time, I think im equipped to make a decision now.

Hello again, Alison,

I've just clocked that you're posting from Eire. This forum has had enquries before from the emerald isle - and renting vs buying a CPAP machine in Ireland is not a cheerful prospect whichever way you look at it.

(For US readers, the cost of buying outright in Eire is high because the VAT - a kind of sales tax - is so high. It's 23 pc - and is applied at every stage in the supply chain. And the rental charges are exorbitant.)

The machine you've been offered in Ireland, Alison, is ex-rental - which means it has been bought as new and imported as new – and the VAT has already been paid by the people who bought it to rent out.

Why they are selling it off - who knows - but at 178 hours, it's virtually unused (see below). And as far as I know, no further VAT can be attached to it - but you might want to check on that.

As to warranty:

(a) If you were in the UK and thus able to buy that 561 direct from Philips Respironics UK (for UK £499; £599 with humidifier), their warranty period is two years from the day the unit leaves the factory. It seems odd that the people re-selling the machine to you don't want to endorse that. But there you go.

(b) On the other hand, the average lifetime of a 561 is at least 10,000 hours - or five years at six hours use a night. So, they're pretty reliable machines.

So forgive me for telling you what you already know, but: with the 'local' deal, you're not being offered much warranty - but the general reputation of Philips Respironics says you might never need it.

As to buying from abroad, from secondwind – again, it's second-hand or 'gently-used'. So AFAIK, there's isn't VAT payable on the machine when it arrives in Ireland. (But, again, you might want to check with the Revenue on that. I couldn't find any precise ruling on their website.)

Wrt warranty when buying from abroad – what you're being offered might be longer than three months – which is good. But remember, you'd have to pay the shipping to get the unit back to the US if you ever needed to claim on that warranty.

And on the third hand secondwind's prices ARE very good.

As for customs duty into Eire and thus the EU, it's a bit complex. With goods of value up to 135 euros, no duty; from 135 to 630 euros, duty at 2.5 pc; and above 630 euros, it depends on what kind of goods.

One more thing – on repair if the unit stops working out of warranty. The most common cause of failure with a 561 is: the blower conks out. If that happens out of warranty, Philips Respironics UK will happily fix it for you. The blower kit costs UK £24.80 and their in-house engineers charge UK £85 for fitting it.

No doubt the Revenue in Dublin would slap 23 pc on top of that invoice when the unit comes back into Eire. But I mention it so you can have all the options.

Best wishes.