CPAP machine with LCD

[lindalq]

Hi everyone,

Just want to get some of your opinion on this. Our fourth year biomedical engineering design project at University of Toronto involves improving on CPAP machines (more specifically the Philips System One REMstar Auto) and this is one of the idea we brainstormed based on your replies. We would definitely love some user feedback on this. (A big thank you to those of you that helped us with our other ideas so far, we look forward to see your reply regarding this idea since it was brought up by many of you )

What do you think of the addition of a LCD screen on the CPAP machine which shows your previous night's sleep at a glance? So we imagined something like the machine will analyze the data and the LCD will show you a graph of your previous night's sleep, ie times where events occurred. Furthermore, what if this data can be wirelessly uploaded to a cloud that would allow you (+ your doctor) to view anywhere on any device?

We created a survey to try to try to consolidate all the responses : https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JFSCFJ9
Let us know what you think? Some of the answers we're interested in are:
1. Would you be interested in this feature?
2. Given two machines with the exact function and features, except one with the addition of the above design feature, how much more are you willing to pay for the machine with LCD? Assuming the insurance company will not cover the additional cost of the LCD screen. (the amount you entered will be used to rank the noteworthiness of the problem.)
3. What data that would be the most helpful to view regarding your previous night's sleep.
4. Given a machine with our LCD feature, do you think this might increase your learning curve/adaptability to your CPAP therapy at the beginning?
5. Would you be interested in wirelessly uploading the data from the LCD to a cloud, allowing you access from anywhere on any device? What if only images/spreadsheet can be transmitted? Would this feature still be helpful?

Also, just another idea. Would it be helpful if the machine can autodetect if the humudifier will dry up overnight?


Other than filling out the survey, please comment on this post to help us understand your answer better and design with more considerations towards the users! We couldn't add too many options on the survey.

THANK YOU!!

[jdr999]

What do you think of the addition of a LCD screen on the CPAP machine which shows your previous night's sleep at a glance? So we imagined something like the LCD will show you a graph of your previous night's sleep.

Honestly? No. I don't even look at the display on my S9 -- I only look at the full night's data in sleepyhead.

Furthermore, what if this data can be wirelessly uploaded to a cloud that would allow you to view anywhere on any device?

This I would like. I wouldn't need to take the time to download my card and I could see all my data from anywhere. A doctor or DME could also look at a patient's data at a glance. The software should be smart enough to alert the doctor or DME of certain events that they have chosen to monitor. This cloud based service should work like dropbox where users could choose to share their data with others..

5. Would you be interested in wirelessly uploading the data from the LCD to a cloud, allowing you access from anywhere on any device? What if only images/spreadsheet can be transmitted? Would this feature still be helpful?

There would need to be a way to view full data. Summary information wouldn't be enough for us here. We need more than that!

When forum members question their reports the first thing we ask to see is a screenshot of the graphs & events. Without the details the nightly summaries don't tell us very much.. We need to see the actual events and when they occurred to try to figure out what was actually happening.

There really needs to be some sort of industry standard oximetry interface built into machines that can support 3rd party devices. Right now it's a real pain in the rear to try and import oximetry data (as another standalone device) and sync it up with the actual machine data. Too many device driver issues and software peculiarities to deal with.. It's a nightmare for many of us.

Incorporating a wireless oximeter such as a CMS-50F with the machine's internal data and syncing everything to the cloud would be *totally awesome*.

Possibly a USB port built into the CPAP to charge our oximeters and automatically download data. Naturally the oximeter manufactures would need to get on board also..

[SleepDisturbed]

How about wifi AND Apps to read data and control the machine? Apps for IOS and Android devices.

Pull that off and you win!

[Julie]

I only ever look at the machine if it's blinking (e.g. to tell me filter needs cleaning), or when taking codes off to enter online for nightly report (that feature btw is only for my machine, not others). I don't look at it otherwise and therefore wouldn't know about humidifier... I just check that 'manually'.

[LSAT]

Do you research your topics???? Most newer machines already have LCD screens.....I rarely look at sleepyhead....maybe every 10-14 days I download. Only interested in glancing at my LCD screen in the AM. I can usually tell before I look if I've had a good or bad night. As long as my AHI is in the < 3 range I'm content.

[lindalq]

Hi jdr999,

Honestly? No. I don't even look at the display on my S9 -- I only look at the full night's data in sleepyhead.

What if the LCD will show a graph of your previous nights sleep? Not just showing numbers like your AHI score? What if the graph also flags any events that you want to monitor?

When forum members question their reports the first thing we ask to see is a screenshot of the graphs & events. Without the details the nightly summaries don't tell us very much.. We need to see the actual events and when they occurred to try to figure out what was actually happening.

When we say transfer images/spreadsheet, we don't mean just the summary numbers. We meant the graph that shows the events and when they are happening throughout the night as well as data that's used to plot the graphs?

There really needs to be some sort of industry standard oximetry interface built into machines that can support 3rd party devices. Right now it's a real pain in the rear to try and import oximetry data (as another standalone device) and sync it up with the actual machine data. Too many device driver issues and software peculiarities to deal with.. It's a nightmare for many of us.

Could you explain how the oximetry interface works? It seems like you're using an oximeter that's not currently incorporated in the machine. Would this be correct? So does many people wear an oximeter along with their mask when they go to sleep?


Hi SleepDistrubed,

How about wifi AND Apps to read data and control the machine? Apps for IOS and Android devices.

We've thought of this, except we are assigned to edit the CPAP machine only. This is why we decided to change the LCD in which the machine analyze the data and show the some useful data and graphs to users the next day. The graphs and data would also be transferred wirelessly, except we're not sure what to do with the data transfer since we're not creating an apps for it.

Hi Julie,
Thank you for answering our survey
Just some clarifications. The LCD won't show a lot of data. It's more like a graph showing events that are happening throughout the night, where if you're more interested in the data, you can export it and explore it better using other devices.
Do you think the LCD would have helped when you were starting CPAP? Like maybe monitoring your sleep would have helped you to adjust to CPAP quicker? We understand that the mask and the whole setup is hard to get used to at the beginning, but we're wondering if the LCD will help ease the users into using it?

I only ever look at the machine if it's blinking (e.g. to tell me filter needs cleaning), or when taking codes off to enter online for nightly report (that feature btw is only for my machine, not others). I don't look at it otherwise and therefore wouldn't know about humidifier... I just check that 'manually'.

The reason we're asking about the humidifier is because some people mentioned that depending on the environment, the water usage might differ night to night and it might be useful if the machine can calculate how much water it'll use and auto detects if it'll run out.


Hi LSAT,

I believe we mentioned in the survey that we were assigned to change the Respironics system one REMstar auto, which does not seem to have the newer LCD screen. Sorry for not stating this in the topic post.

Only interested in glancing at my LCD screen in the AM. I can usually tell before I look if I've had a good or bad night. As long as my AHI is in the < 3 range I'm

Would a graph showing the occurrences of your sleep disruptions throughout the night be helpful on top of your AHI score?

[hueyville]

For most people the issue is not whether they are willing to pay the price difference, will their insurance company pay it? Since the only info most insurance companies want is compliance to make sure the patient is using the machine, I doubt they will pay the difference for a little added convienence for the end user. if the end user even cares, they will get a software package that feeds them all the usefull data they need and store it in their computer for years to come. I think your chasing your tail. Besides, my machine will already provide the data your talking about through my Android or a i-phone.

[Julie]

The LCD wouldn't have helped when I started 8 or so yrs ago because I quickly found the forum and used Encore to monitor things, and if I hadn't found the forum I wouldn't have known or understood the numbers anyhow. My bro. uses Cpap too, but is 100% clueless about anything and depends 100% on his doctor for info. no matter how much I offer to help (and he's younger than I am and very well educated!). Luckily the doctor seems to understand quite a bit (in Montreal).

[lindalq]

Hi hueyville

Thank you for your inputs regarding insurance companies. What we're trying to figure out is if having the LCD will increase the compliance for users. We're also wondering which machine do you use that currently provide the data through your Android or an i-phone?


Hi Julie,

The LCD wouldn't have helped when I started 8 or so yrs ago because I quickly found the forum and used Encore to monitor things, and if I hadn't found the forum I wouldn't have known or understood the numbers anyhow. My bro. uses Cpap too, but is 100% clueless about anything and depends 100% on his doctor for info. no matter how much I offer to help (and he's younger than I am and very well educated!). Luckily the doctor seems to understand quite a bit (in Montreal).

What if data shown on the LCD is self explanatory? What we're hoping achieve with the LCD is that the data will be more accessible, allowing you to quickly view previous night's sleep and investigate more closely with Encore if there are key events that concern you. So you don't have to remove and insert the SD card into your computer each time you want to just quickly see how your sleep was. Do you think this would be helpful?
Also in comparison with your bro, do you think your CPAP therapy's more effective since you're monitoring it yourself?

[JDS74]

I'm not so much in favor of the LCD approach as to one in which the manufacturer supplied, even if on a subscription basis, the software the presents the information contained in reports such as Encore Pro, ResScan, or SleepyHead. The minimum functionality should be that provided by Encore Pro. All information in raw form should be stored on the patient's computer and should be able to be reloaded in its entirety at any point providing a degree of portability between computers in case the patient should replace the original computer with a newer or different one. Encore Pro loads all the the data into an internal data base and includes all of the breathing pattern data when it does so. It won't load older breathing pattern data especially in the case of a complete data reload. I believe SleepyHead does do this while ResScan doesn't (fact check this last please.)

At the user's choice, the software should be able to upload a variety of reports to a cloud system that would be accessible by the sleep doctor and/or the current DME but this function should be under the complete control of the patient at all times. Access by anyone authorized by the patient could be terminated at their discretion.

This software should be installable on tablets such as the iPad or the Surface Pro or even relatively low priced tablet or laptop PCs. Support for Mac's would also be nice but at least it should be able to easily be installed within one of the Windows emulation modes available on Mac's.

It should be installed on the patient's computer platform at the time of delivery of the CPAP device and a method of upgrading at least on an annual basis be provided. For those with internet access (see user's choice above) automatic software upgrades should be available.

I would be comfortable with paying somewhere in the range of $10 - $50 per year for this software but the initial cost should be included as part of the system.

[Julie]

"Also in comparison with your bro, do you think your CPAP therapy's more effective since you're monitoring it yourself?"

My therapy wasn't ineffective to begin with (apart from needing to change out a few masks early on) so it's hard to say. Sorry!

[zoocrewphoto]

Just some clarifications. The LCD won't show a lot of data. It's more like a graph showing events that are happening throughout the night, where if you're more interested in the data, you can export it and explore it better using other devices.
Do you think the LCD would have helped when you were starting CPAP? Like maybe monitoring your sleep would have helped you to adjust to CPAP quicker? We understand that the mask and the whole setup is hard to get used to at the beginning, but we're wondering if the LCD will help ease the users into using it?

Honestly, no. I found this forum my first day on cpap, and I found out right away that I could download free software and see my own data. THAT helped me see how my machine was working for me and made it more useful to me.

http://www.zoocrewphoto.com/apap.htm

The top part has my sleep study results. But below that are two pages showing all the data I get from my Resmed S9.

I do like the basic data of hours used, ahi, and leak (good/bad) that are on the screen.

If you really want to have the data on the screen be useful, I would recommend some warnings, such as x events over 30 seconds, x events over 1 minute. That would show that the current settings are NOT successful and needs some adjustment. There are other warnings that would be be good to know, x amount of time in large leak territory, clusters of events, periodic breathing patterns, etc.

And get rid of the 7 day and 30 day averages. Those might be good for the doctor or DME, but those are useless for the actual users.

[lindalq]

Hi zoocrewphoto,

Honestly, no. I found this forum my first day on cpap, and I found out right away that I could download free software and see my own data. THAT helped me see how my machine was working for me and made it more useful to me.

If the data have been provided on the LCD since the first day, do you think it would help? So instead of downloading the software and learning how to read the data from the forum, the LCD will show you the data right away each time. We are thinking that there might be those who are not as tech savvy as you, and they might benefit from a LCD that would quickly show just important data since the first day.

http://www.zoocrewphoto.com/apap.htm

The top part has my sleep study results. But below that are two pages showing all the data I get from my Resmed S9.
I do like the basic data of hours used, ahi, and leak (good/bad) that are on the screen.

Thank you for the data! this definitely helps!

If you really want to have the data on the screen be useful, I would recommend some warnings, such as x events over 30 seconds, x events over 1 minute. That would show that the current settings are NOT successful and needs some adjustment. There are other warnings that would be be good to know, x amount of time in large leak territory, clusters of events, periodic breathing patterns, etc.
And get rid of the 7 day and 30 day averages. Those might be good for the doctor or DME, but those are useless for the actual users.

Thank you for the suggestions! Sorry, we didn't see your reply on this post before we replied to your other post.

[zoocrewphoto]

Hi zoocrewphoto,

Honestly, no. I found this forum my first day on cpap, and I found out right away that I could download free software and see my own data. THAT helped me see how my machine was working for me and made it more useful to me.

If the data have been provided on the LCD since the first day, do you think it would help? So instead of downloading the software and learning how to read the data from the forum, the LCD will show you the data right away each time. We are thinking that there might be those who are not as tech savvy as you, and they might benefit from a LCD that would quickly show just important data since the first day.

Some of the data makes no sense without explanations from here. It would definitely need to come with a book explaining it all. I think most people usually post their data and get feedback from people who understand it more.

My biggest question is whether you can fit info like that on a small screen on the machine. The full night barely fits on my screen at regular size. If I need to zoom in, I have to enlarge it. How will that work on a small lcd screen?

[lindalq]

Hi zoocrewphoto,

My biggest question is whether you can fit info like that on a small screen on the machine. The full night barely fits on my screen at regular size. If I need to zoom in, I have to enlarge it. How will that work on a small lcd screen?

You're definitely right about this. We're thinking of editing the screen such that it's the size of an iPhone. and the LCD will also be touchscreen allowing zoom in etc. However, since the screen might be too small, we're thinking only of incorporating the most essential features. Such as some of those that you suggested.

Also, would it be possible for you to fill out our survey? It's so that we can consolidate all our data and make final decisions as to the different aspects of the LCD. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JFSCFJ9

Thanks!