Acceptable Mask Leak

[Marvinvwinkle]

What is an acceptable leak rate. My reports show no large leaks but 30 percent average leak rate. I use an opus 360 and I like it better than the swifts that I have used in the past. I looked on the website for opus and it did not have any info that I could use. I would also like to ask what a "Pressure Pulse" is? I'm still trying to interpret some of the wave forms.

[robysue]

What is an acceptable leak rate. My reports show no large leaks but 30 percent average leak rate. I use an opus 360 and I like it better than the swifts that I have used in the past. I looked on the website for opus and it did not have any info that I could use. I would also like to ask what a "Pressure Pulse" is? I'm still trying to interpret some of the wave forms.

Are you using Encore Viewer or Encore Pro?

What do you mean by a 30 percent average leak rate?

When I look at my Encore Viewer reports, the average leak rate is reported in L/min which stands for Liters/min.

Do you mean that your average leak rate is 30 L/min?

To tell if that's good or bad, you need to look at the owner's manual that came with the opus 360. There should be a chart in there that will indicate what the intentional leak rate for the mask is at your pressure level it. Compare that number to your average leak rate. Also look at the leak rate graph in Encore Viewer. If the graph is pretty flat and pretty close to what your owner's manual says the intentional leak rate for your pressure setting is, then you've got a good leak rate.

A pressure pulse is when the System One sends out a pulse of pressure to determine if an apnea is an obstructive one or a central one I think. I don't think that Encore Viewer shows these. But Encore Pro does?

[avi123]

A pressure pulse is when the System One sends out a pulse of pressure to determine if an apnea is an obstructive one or a central one I think. I don't think that Encore Viewer shows these. But Encore Pro does?

I am wondering if these pressure pulses relate to the Forced Oscillation Technique (FOT) that Resmed S9 Autoset and S9 Elite use to differentiate between Obstructive and Central Apneas?

Reading from the Respironic data I read: The PR BiPAP Auto not only detects these events, the REMstar Auto algorithm responds by automatically adjusting pressure levels to clear the apnea. Within a few seconds of recorded flow reduction, the PR BiPAP Auto pulses a series of pressures to determine if the apnea has been cleared.

It seems to me that in this case the series of pressure pulses are used to clear the obstruction and not to determine the state of the airway and measure its patency.

[cflame1]

try this doc Marvin

http://www.fphcare.com/userfiles/file/O ... ctions.pdf

Part way down the document is a "Technical Spec" "Exhaust Flow"

[Marvinvwinkle]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I was hoping the chart was referring to leak rate. I have my auto set at 9 to 20 right now and it averages between 33 to 34 L/min at an average pressure of 11.5. I was just worried that I had a leak that I was not detecting.