Question for S9 data users

[silver123]

I'm getting an S9 in the next two and a half weeks. I've been using a Respironics M series APAP and collecting data just about daily for close to 2 years....smart card reader, Vista, etc. I do the regular morning download and weekly reformat the card to avoid the no data recorded error that is common.

Can you tell me about data collection with the S9? I picked up a class 4 4G SD card and formatted it FAT32 to replace the one that comes with the machine already. Already have a card reader for this card. Is it better to wait until the afternoon to upload the data to your computer? or morning? how many hours after getting up? Do you need to reformat the card regularly? with this skew error that it being talked about, do you need to reformat?

Any suggestions are welcome and thanks.

[bigk]

I have never seen a skew error. I get up in the morning, have a shower, then press the on/off button for 3 seconds so the machine turns off. I then remove he card and download it. I would do this before 12PM. Then I put the card back in the S9 for that night.

I have used a couple of different cards - the S9 or Resscan set's the card up. You should never have to re-format the card and I have never see the "no data recorded" error. I also only use Class 2 cards and in fact just got some sandick 1gb micro sd cards and they work perfectly. (I'm planning on a 3 week vacation so I needed some more cards)

My observation is that people that screw around with the cards and use them in unintended manners outside their intended use seem to be the people having problems.

[jmelby]

The skew bug is really not a big deal unless you are scrutinizing your data... it only affects the "Flow" graph that shows every breath and you can see where you stop breathing. Personally, I am more interested in the Leak, Pressure, and Event/AHI data and that is unaffected by the bug.

To contradict bigk, I haven't done anything to my card beyond putting it in my computer and downloading the data... I don't lock it, don't reformat it, etc, yet I have seen the skew bug on the Flow graph. Since I really don't care about that level of detail, it has never bothered me.

I have downloaded my data right after waking up, after noon, a few days later, etc. and have not run into any issues. Most days I just look at AHI on the LCD and only download data every few days or so now.

[Nord]

I have never seen a skew error. I get up in the morning, have a shower, then press the on/off button for 3 seconds so the machine turns off. I then remove he card and download it. I would do this before 12PM. Then I put the card back in the S9 for that night.

I have used a couple of different cards - the S9 or Resscan set's the card up. You should never have to re-format the card and I have never see the "no data recorded" error. I also only use Class 2 cards and in fact just got some sandick 1gb micro sd cards and they work perfectly. (I'm planning on a 3 week vacation so I needed some more cards)

My observation is that people that screw around with the cards and use them in unintended manners outside their intended use seem to be the people having problems.

That would be one person's opinion...

Many very experienced people here have had a Skew issue for unknown reasons. My guess is that no one who owns an S9, and has a Skew issue, has intentionally or unintentionally abused or caused an issue. Perhaps Bigk has some information that he hasn't told anybody, about what they are doing, that is wrong.

Some people are trying to isolate the issue and have several theories from S9 hardware, firmware or SD card issues.
Hopefully soon there will be some more definitive answers. The Skew issue does not prevent great therapy or interfere with data collection and the amount of graphic info that you will see.
The Skew issue sounds like a big issue but really, it's a very small fly in the ointment.

Those people that have a Skew issue choose to either ignore it or reformat the card every once in a while.

That aside... the S9 is a wonderful machine, that is quiet, efficient and relaxing medical device that has seemed to lower everyone's AHI values. IMHO it is attributed to the gentle breathing cycle of therapy and quietness while it is working.

I for one, would not trade the S9 for another machine.

Nord

[bigk]

The Skew issue sounds like a big issue but really, it's a very small fly in the ointment.
.....

That aside... the S9 is a wonderful machine, that is quiet, efficient and relaxing medical device that has seemed to lower everyone's AHI values. IMHO it is attributed to the gentle breathing cycle of therapy and quietness while it is working.

I for one, would not trade the S9 for another machine.

Well I am pleased to hear you say that. It does seem however that in a few cases I have observed that people are being deterred from getting the S9 because of this "bug" which is very unfortunate as the S9 seems to be the best machine available at the moment.

[bigk]

I do think talk of skew bugs and corrupted data cards etc is turning off some potential users which is a shame.

[billbolton]

Many...

Some at best, a few would be even closer to the mark.

[gpk111]

Silver,
No one made it clear that there are two classes of data: The compliance data and the detailed breath by breath data. If you're satisfied with compliance data (Pressure, leak rate, AHI, AI), as most people are, you don't even need a card for over year, since the S9 stores the data for that long. Anytime you put in the card, it will write the compliance data of the last 365 days. That's good enough for most, including insurance companies.

If you want the detailed data, however, the S9 writes that data onto the card when you turn off the machine in the morning, but only stores 8 days of data on the card. No detailed data is stored within the S9. If you don't have a card in for that day, you don't get that detailed data ...ever. The S9 resets itself at noon. That reset is only relevant for detailed data.

So no need for even a second card unless you need detailed data AND don't read the data within 8 days. eg if you travel for 2 weeks and don't take a reader, two cards are needed to capture all detailed data. Otherwise, the last day's detailed data overwrites the data that's 9 days old.

Also, as mentioned, the "skew bug," if you have it (I don't), only affects the detailed data. It is unknown what percetage of machines have the skew bug. I'm guessing it takes on an unusual prominence on this forum since many contributors are extremely knowlegable AND read their detailed data.

PS My DME never touches detailed data unless the doc request it, so if I mentioned the "skew bug," they wouldn't know what I was talking about.....at least not the lady who transcribes the data for the docs.

Gerry

[silver123]

Thanks for all the good info.It's appreciated.The glance I've gotten at the data and graphs people have posted look so much more comprehensive than the Respironics software.

I'm so looking forward to getting the S9. I'm in Canada so was able to purchase it with insurance help through CPAP.com and send it to my sister in the US who is bring it up mid-May. All the conversations I read here led to the decision to do the purchase.

silver

[alterego61]

Many...

Some at best, a few would be even closer to the mark.

In a medical device, one bug on one machine is too many.

[gpk111]

The S9 data has made all the difference. I struggled for a year with CPAP machines. The data gave me new and very positive motivation and results.

[alterego61]

The S9 data has made all the difference. I struggled for a year with CPAP machines. The data gave me new and very positive motivation and results.

Don't get me wrong, I think the s9 is a great machine and I would not exchange mine for my previous model. The skew bug is a minor one and can be worked around but nonetheless it should not be there.

Social media marketing is now mainstream; if ResMed has any sense they will be reading these posts and know that a very small number of people are aware of this issue. If they operated in a different business domain that was less constrained from a legal or regulatory point of view they would probably be here telling us what the problem is and what they are going to do to fix it. As it is we will probably have to be patient and see what they announce or release officially. Let's hope it's fairly quick.

[silver123]

I totally agree with you, alterego61. It shows incredibly sloppy quality control on the part of Resmed R&D QA group. This should have been caught in the extensive testing they should have done for this product, which includes the collection and reporting of all data on the SD card and all software. Minimally, they should be addressing this with a workaround/fix/firmware upgrade/whatever to fix this as soon as possible.

Sometimes it is not so much the bug found as the indication of what that means in terms of the development process a company may use. There are reasons for FDA compliance. It does force companies to follow stricter processes, particularly quality control.

[gpk111]

As a new (serious) CPAP user, I'm very impressed by the evolved technology embodied in the S9 and the associated ResScan software. I submit that the "skew bug," which may be related to a particular manufacturing run, would have been very difficult to catch.

[alterego61]

As a new (serious) CPAP user, I'm very impressed by the evolved technology embodied in the S9 and the associated ResScan software. I submit that the "skew bug," which may be related to a particular manufacturing run, would have been very difficult to catch.

I'm impressed by the techology too, but there is no excuse for poor quality control or testing on a medical device that users may have paid hundreds or thousands of dollars for and upon which they rely to treat a serious medical condition.

Unless you work for ResMed and/or have access to non-public data I don't see how you can make any assumptions at this stage about whether the problem is limited to a particular manufacturing run or how difficult it would have been to "catch" the problem - we don't even know yet what is causing the problem, just what the symptoms are.

The saving grace is, as you and others have pointed out, at least it appears that the problem does not impact the efficacy of the treatment, just the presentation of the results.

FYI if you google the terms "ResMed", "s8" and "recall" you will see that the company does not have an unblemished quality record.