S9 data recording problem

[jmw]

I have had the S9 auto for 6 weeks and every night but two I have gaps in the graphs with no data. I use Sleepyhead, but decided to download Rescan and the gaps showed up in both. The gaps range from 1 minute to 30 minutes. The ramp in on, so there is no indication that the machine is shutting down. Does anyone have an idea of what might be happening?

[avi123]

I get gaps when I stop the machine to go to the bathroom. The actual breaks are less than 5 minutes each. But on the ResScan graphs they look much longer.
It seems like your machine malfunctions. Can you show ResScan graphs like these (I stopped the machine one time, and I don't use the SmartStart):

[robysue]

See the list of green/black bars in the Right Side bar under the Session Information?

Each of those represents a "session" or "mask event"---they run from a time the machine was turned ON to when it was turned OFF. And the time between when one session ENDS and the next session starts shows up as a gap in the graphical data in the right side of the window.


Your data indicates that you turned the machine ON and then OFF a total of five times during the night. That should cause four gaps to show up in your data. I can't read the session times or the time scales on the graphs, but I'm pretty sure that the "gaps" in your data correspond to the times that the Sessions data indicates the machine was turned OFF.


So the relevant questions are:

Do you remember turning the machine OFF and then back ON at all during the night?

Is SmartStart set to ON or OFF? If SmartStart is set to ON, the machine will turn itself OFF automatically when it no longer detects a patient at the other end of the mask---i.e. if it doesn't detect any breathing patterns for a period that's longer than a (long) apnea, possibly together with a constant and large leak of the sort that indicates the mask is not on a face. The machine will turn itself back on once it detects a couple of breaths.

So if SmartStart is ON, then the question becomes, are you briefly removing your mask (possibly in your sleep) and then putting it back on again?

[robysue]

IThe ramp in on, so there is no indication that the machine is shutting down.

Not quite sure what you mean by "the ramp is on" in this statement.

But I'll hazard a guess or two.

Guess #1: You hear fan noise when the mask is not on and you assume this is the ramp. On the Resmed S9, when you turn the machine OFF or when SmartStart turns the machine OFF, the blower keeps blowing (at a much reduced rate) in order to cool the humidifier and dry the hose. If you turn the machine off very briefly (say to fiddle with something) and then turn the machine back on, it's quite possible that the blower is running for the entire time the machine is technically OFF. During this cool down period, the machine is NOT recording any data because it presumes there is no person attached to the mask at the other end because the On/Off button was pushed to turn the machine OFF. When the On/Off button is again pushed OR when SmartStart detects breathing, the machine is officially turned back on, the pressure comes back up, and the machine starts recording again.

Guess #2: Your machine is set up to automatically start with the ramp. And the pressure curve clearly indicates that at the beginning of each new session, the pressure is not at the starting ramp pressure, but rather at your full prescribed pressure. And so you believe the machine was not turned OFF and then ON. In this case, I think you first want to find out just what the S9 is indeed supposed to do. I know the ramp can be turned off on the S9, but I don't know if it can be set to only be turned on if the machine is being turned on for the first session of the night. If this is what you mean, then Avi is right, you might want to have the machine checked out by the DME and ask them to download all the detailed data and explain the gaps where the machine has apparently turned itself OFF and ON, but the ramp did not come back on.

[jmw]

Thanks avi123 and robysue. I was afraid the machine was malfunctioning and I guess I wanted confirmation before I went back to the DME. I mentioned the gaps to the RT when I went in for the 30 day compliance report, but didn't get a straight answer. This week I had a 20 and 30 minute gap that finally got my attention. I had pretty much ruled out mask or pressure problems, and potty breaks ended years ago when I started Cpap. I showed the RT as copy of one night with gaps, but I think she was more impressed with Sleepyhead than the gaps, and she asked for the web site info. This time I will take the nights with multiple gaps along with the nights with 20 and 30 minute gaps. Thanks again, I value your expertise.

[RandyJ]

I notice these gaps occasionally too. I don't have SmartStart enabled and I rarely wake up during the night, so I just assumed it was a glitch.

[newname]

I tried downloading sleepyhead. I don't think it worked. I can't find it on my laptop. Is there a step by step guide to download?

[squid13]

Where did you download it to on your laptop. I always download to my desktop. Open search on your laptop and put SleepyHead in the search box and see what turns up.