Resmed Autoset II Problem?

joey777 · Post by **joey777** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 8:02 am

Hello everyone. I just got the new Autoset II. I was using the Elite S8 with EPR before. When using the S8 I could really tell the difference between the 1-3 settings of the EPR. Easy to exhale on 3 less on 2 less on 1. My question is on the new Autoset I can't tell any difference switching though the 3 different modes. Is this normal or do I have a machine that's not working correctly? It's supposed to be their new easy breathe technology so I'm not sure if this is normal for this unit.

Sleet · Post by **Sleet** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 9:19 am

I have an Autiset II can tell the difference between 1 and 3. What pressure are you at when you're ramping or settling? If you're base is low, maybe the change is too subtle.

BTW: I'm only 21 days into APAP therapy, so discount my advice accordingly.

Shilohcane · Post by **Shilohcane** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:39 pm

Tonight is one week on my Autoset II and I have the EPR in the factory setting that seems to be great for me when I exhale. I will play with it tonight and see what the different levels are like. It will give me a chance to use that 3 minute Mask test mode that I read about in the manual.

BTW, for the record what is your pressure reading from your data?

I was told I need 13 CM from my sleep test and all I see when I look each day at my pressure is 10.6 on my data each day. Is that 10.6 average or the high pressure?

Sleet · Post by **Sleet** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 2:48 pm

My titrated pressure was 14. The Autoset II indicated a pressure of 11.2. I've been told that it displays the pressure you were at or below for 95% of the night.

bigk · Post by **bigk** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 7:36 pm

I have the Aussie Version of the Autoset II that doesn't have EPR in APAP mode. I have never felt any resistance at all breathing out (max pressure 15) so I am not surprised you don't see any difference in the EPR settings.

I really do believe the EPR function in the Autoset II was just a marketting thing to shut up the respironics drones and their percieved a-flex "advantage"

The Easy Breathe Technology seems to make EPR redundant IMO.

hobbs · Post by **hobbs** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 7:41 pm

bigk wrote:
I really do believe the EPR function in the Autoset II was just a marketting thing to shut up the respironics drones and their percieved a-flex "advantage"

Shilohcane · Post by **Shilohcane** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 9:01 am

Sorry, I got to bed to late at night to play with the EPR levels last night. I did re-read the manual since I forgot how to start the 3 minute Mask Seal Test to bypass that 20 minutes on the Settling mode. All you have to do is hold the Start/Stop button for 3 seconds and it goes to 10 cm or the pressure you had the night before to check your mask seal.

But, I should disqualify myself since I am such a rookie with xpap that I found out this mourning that I had the EPR turned OFF on the menu. I got the machine last week. I was sure EPR was working since I been bragging how EPR gave me relief when I exhales to a buddy that has a standard cpap. He was so jealous he ordered an S8 Autoset II so I didn't have a better machine than him. All I proved is I'm an amateur still. I have now put it on EPR =2 and try it tonight but since I am just now getting my AHI less than 5, I don't want to make to many changes at a time.

Shilohcane · Post by **Shilohcane** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 9:46 am

Looks like cpap.com is getting ready to add the S8 AutoSet II to their products line but they just don't have the sales price set yet.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage-advanced.php?PNum=2771

Also, it's in the Self Adjusting CPAP Comparison Chart but I saw this.

https://www.cpap.com/cpap-compare-chart ... sting-CPAP

( Note, that link is correct but it won't take you to the Comparison Chart. Just look on left side for "Self Adjusting CPAPs" under Comparison )

The reason that I posted that last link was on the Comparison chart they had "EPR and Easy-Breathe". Till I saw this link I was thinking that "EPR" was the just easy way say "Easy-Breathe". Now it looks like they are two different options.

I have just found out my Auto-Set II had EPR option turned OFF since I got it but unless I'm nuts I can feel it giving me Pressure Relief on Exhale. Now it looks like EPR and Easy-Breathe are two different Pressure Relief on Exhale options. This may explane why joey777 can tell the difference between the different EPR levels of 1, 2 & 3.

joey777 · Post by **joey777** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 7:39 pm

Thanks for the posts people. I called Resmed about the EPR settings and explained the situation. He told me to bring the unit back in to be tested. They are going to test the EPR pressure at the different levels to see the pressure drop to make sure it's acting normal. I will most likely do this tomorrow and I will let everybody know what I find out. He also told me that on the S8 Elite it was more of a mechanical EPR feel to it where as the Autoset II was a software advancement and would act differently. Well see.....

dsm · Post by **dsm** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 8:05 pm

Re Easy Breathe vs EPR.

The two are similar concepts. It is the waveform that is different.

My understanding of the difference is that Easy Breathe has a 'shark-fin' wave form whereas the EPR didn't. But this is just an educated guess. I have never seen any data describing the EPR waveform but I know from using it it isn't a square waveform nor does it feel like or linear slope waveform. EPR seems to have some curve in it (this is noticable in the way the pressure varies when you breath out when compared to a bilevel that is known to have a liner sloped waveform (the linear slope in them is usually adjusted by the risetime setting)).

What I do believe was done in the series II machines was that they introduced a new blower that is a smaller version of the blower developed for the Vpap AdaptSV machine. The blower is quieter and can change speed much quicker thus can be better controlled to shape breathing response.
The improvements are stated in the use of 'a dual impeller' blower.

What dual impeller means is that rather than have a motor with one blower fan at one end of the motor shaft and a counter weight at the other end, they replace the counterweight with another identical fan & because the motors are high acceleration DC brushless motors they can adjust pressure in millisecs and do it quietly as the two fans balance each other and the load on the motor.

To paint a word picture, picture the air input as being sucked into a tube starting at the back of the machine. In the middle the input air input is split into 2 smaller tubes with one smaller tube directed to one end of the motor where it has a blower fan & the other smaller tube directed to the other end of the motor with its identical blower fan then the output from both fans is redirected back to a single hose that exits as the pressure out nozzle.

The design is actually simpler that described above but the principle is identical, split input air to two fans & rejoin at output nozzle - fan is harmonically balanced & with the high performance motor there is no lost energy as there was when one end had just a counterweight. In this design all the motor energy goes into shifting air & none into changing the speed of a counterweight.

The smaller faster accelerating motor then allows for more sophisticated control of the airflow & thus can do fancy tight-pattern waveforms like a shark-fin one which better emulates human breathing than the previous typical waveforms (square linear or sloped linear). Also it allowed them to add this new wave-form EPR to Auto mode.

DSM

#2: Hmmm, on reflection, easy-breathe may be different to EPR but the difference is only going to be an effect based on wave shaping and the settings are how strong the wave shaping is.

The idea may be simpler than EPR but it may not be fair to call it EPR. I guess the acid test is can EPR be turned on at the same time as easy-breathe & does each have its own setting, or can you only have one or the other in which case the arguments is one may be a modification of the other.

Does anyone with one know if both can be activated at the same time ? - can both be run at the same time in Auto mode ?

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): hose, auto

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 10:37 pm

Can Easy Breathe be turned off at all?

O.

bigk · Post by **bigk** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 10:43 pm

Easy Breathe is not configurable.

dsm · Post by **dsm** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 11:16 pm

bigk wrote:Easy Breathe is not configurable.

That opens the question as to what it is.

My guess now is that it is a specific wave shaping applied at the breath-in breathe-out points in the cycle but doesn't reduce pressure.

EPR remains dropping the pressure by 1 2 or 3 CMS on exhale.

So the other question is then is easy breath able to be turned on & off ?

DSM

bigk · Post by **bigk** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 2:48 am

you can't turn easybreathe on or off. There is a brochure about easybreathe on the Resmed site.

dsm · Post by **dsm** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 3:00 am

[quote="bigk"]you can't turn easybreathe on or off. There is a brochure about easybreathe on the Resmed site.

Mask	Humidifier

Additional Comments: S9 Autoset, H5i, Resmed Swift FX, Resscan 3.10