Data

[I Am]

For a Resmed S8 Elite ll, what data does the built-in screen give you and what data does the card give you.

[ozij]

The software, fand this true for all data capable machines, gives info of when things happened. The LCD only gives averages.

Using the LCD, you don't know if your breathing disturbances happened consistently, or in clusters. Same for leaks.

O.

[DreamStalker]

As O. said ... the difference is in the details

If you are lucky and all goes well, LED averages will let you know that you were lucky and are doing well.

If you are unlucky and not doing well, details (software) will let you know where to focus your energy to fix problems.

[ozij]

...Dreamstalker said it much better.
O.

[Velbor]

In addition to agreeing fully with the above, I would add that while the LCD statistics are accurate, they can be statistically misleading if not understood in context.

You may have an AHI of 1.0, which is excellent. If you slept for 8 hours, that means you had 8 apnea or hypopnea events. Without the software, you don't know when they occurred (spread out over the night, or clustered together) or how long they lasted. The software would tell you.

You may have a 95th centile leak of 0.02 L/s, which is excellent. If you slept for 8 hours, you have no information about what you leak was like for the remaining 5% of the night (24 minutes). May have been the same, or could have been through the roof; no way to know without the software.

Lack of knowledge of these things doesn't necessarily mean that there is any problem at all. And knowledge doesn't always mean that you can do anything about things which may be less than ideal. The take-home message is that information is available if you want it and if you can afford it and if you have the intrest to delve into it. Many don't, and that's no reflection on their character or intelligence, and they often do just fine. Trust that you will do fine also. Regards, Velbor