Understanding the Respironics LCD 7-Day & 30-day Averages

[cinco777]

I've posted my findings on this subject in various threads, including two that I started recently. However, to ensure that users who rely on their LCD #s for therapy monitoring understand how it works re displaying the 7-day and 30-day averages: AHI, System Leak, 90% Pressure,and Therapy Usage Hrs, I started this new thread and I've extracted two recent postings of mine to include here.

To appreciate the accuracy of the displayed Averages, you might want to look at a recent thread that I started titled "How Accurate is the AHI# Displayed on the Respironics LCD display?"

viewtopic/t44738/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=44 ... 30#p397089

Posting #1
Please note that your sleep night and Noon-to-Noon day (local time) are different than the machine's. Your machine's internal clock runs on UTC/GMT which only matches the local time for folks that live near London, England. With this in mind, realize that the LCD display will only have data to display after completing at least one of its days. For folks like me living on the West Coast, my machine's day ends at 5AM local time (UTC/GMT - 7 hours). For folks living on the East Coast, their machine's day ends at 8AM local time (UTC/GMT - 4 hours). Once Daylight Time ends, it will be -8 for me and -5 for the East Coasters.

To see an LCD display that includes your last night's sleep #s (realize they are for a shorter "night" if you slept past your machine's end of day), you must have used your machine during its "day" and must not have reset Therapy Usage Hrs to 0 after its day ended and before you look at the LCD. Here on the West Coast, I can view the LCD displayed average numbers that include my previous night's sleep (ending at 5AM local time) as soon as I want after 5AM local time. (I believe that this is correct but need to confirm that the data is immediately available & displayed at 5AM and that there is no reporting delay as I haven't, in past experiments, looked at exactly when the previous night's results are included in the 7-day average #s on the LCD display).

What makes all of this LCD "stuff" confusing to members of this forum is that users, residing in different time zones, have differing local times for when their machine's day (defined as Noon-to-Noon) ends. Realize that your machine always has the same end of day as everyone else (it is set to UTC/GMT). However, when your Noon-to-Noon day ends is dependent on which time zone you reside in (your local time). Wouldn't this be so much simpler, understandable, and useable if Respironics provided a local time reset option for their machines? Would anyone (other than Respironics) with some common sense disagree?

Posting#2
Earlier in this thread I posted the following - see highlighted text

To see an LCD display that includes your last night's sleep #s (realize they are for a shorter "night" if you slept past your machine's end of day), you must have used your machine during its "day" and must not have reset Therapy Usage Hrs to 0 after its day ended and before you look at the LCD. Here on the West Coast, I can view the LCD displayed average numbers that include my previous night's sleep (ending at 5AM local time) as soon as I want after 5AM local time. (I believe that this is correct but need to confirm that the data is immediately available & displayed at 5AM and that there is no reporting delay as I haven't, in past experiments, looked at exactly when the previous night's results are included in the 7-day average #s on the LCD display).


Last night (actually this morning for my sleep night) I awoke at 4:50AM and decided to get up and confirm that my Respironics machine updates its LCD information (7-day & 30-day averages) immediately following ITS end of day. In my case, living on the West Coast, ITS end of day is at 5AM local time. I looked at my display at 4:59AM, 5AM, and 5:01AM. The LCD 7-day Average #s (System Leak & Therapy Usage hh:mm/Night) had changed by 5:01AM indicating that my machine had completed ITS prior day and switched to ITS new day (Noon-to-Noon UTC/GMT time). Just to be clear, the machine does not delay updating its LCD Average #s. It updates them immediately once ITS day ends. Please note, as I have mentioned before, that the local time YOUR Respironics machine updates ITS LCD Averages depends on your time Zone: West Coast at 5AM local time, Mountain at 6AM local time, Central at 7AM local time, East Coast at 8AM local time, and so forth. Only for folks living near London, England, will have their machine update its LCD averages at Noon local time as Noon local time for Londoners is the same as Noon UTC/GMT time.

[Maple Leaf]

I live on the west coast so anytime after 5am I should be able to read "up to date data"?

Rick

[cinco777]

Maple Leaf wrote

I live on the west coast so anytime after 5am I should be able to read "up to date data"?

Yes. At 5AM your time this morning, your last night's sleep #s will be included in your LCD 7-day and 30-day Averages. Realize that if you slept past 5AM, the LCD Averages you are viewing this morning (and actually can continue to view until 5AM tomorrow morning) will not include any of your sleep hours after 5AM this morning. Those after "5AM this morning" sleep #s will show up in the LCD averages that appear on your LCD tomorrow at 5:01AM. Realize that your machine's clock does not keep perfect time (it is not an atomic clock) so it may be a few minutes of the hour off compared to your local time clock.

[socalmonkey]

So if you have the new PR System One Auto machine, you would not have this same issue. Since it has a GMT Offset feature. In that case, you have your local time zone offset (in my case, like yours) set to -7 for west coast daylight savings time. Then it should show you the previous night's data at 12 noon. I hope verify that this weekend. So far, that seems to be the case. Because I don't see the data in the morning. But when I come home from work it's there. Tomorrow I will be home and at noon, I to hope verify this.

[cinco777]

socalmonkey wrote

Because I don't see the data in the morning. But when I come home from work it's there. Tomorrow I will be home and around at noon to hope verify this.

Just looking at the LCD display at noon won't be a 100% Proof. You need to observe a change in the LCD average(s) from right before your Noon local time to right after your Noon local time. I hope you are correct and there is an offset capability to match local time as it will make the use of the LCD much easier for a user without software. Do you know if they also provide a Single Night report of AHI, Leak, etc., on their new machine as that would be "icing on the cake". BTW, which time Zone do you reside in?

I'd like to read what Respironics says about providing a "UTC/GMT offset capability to match local time" on their new PR1 machine. Please provide a URL pointer. Thanks.

[socalmonkey]

Just looking at the LCD display at noon won't be a 100% Proof. You need to observe a change in the LCD average(s) from right before your Noon local time to right after your Noon local time. I hope you are correct and there is an offset capability to match local time as it will make the use of the LCD much easier for a user without software.

Yeah, this is what I plan to look for. I looked this morning before work... then this afternoon (around 4 PM) and there was a change in the averages.

Do you know if they also provide a Single Night report of AHI, Leak, etc., on their new machine as that would be "icing on the cake". BTW, which time Zone do you reside in?

No Single night. Very disappointing. It's still the same 7 day/30 day crap.

I am also in California.

By the way, the "Leaks" reported are only Large Leaks! It does not report mask leak averages... only "Large Leak" averages on the LCD. To me, this is useless and a big disappointment. But maybe that was how the old machine was? Previously I only used the software with my old Auto-M.

I'd like to read what Respironics says about providing a "UTC/GMT offset capability to match local time" on their new PR1 machine. Please provide a URL pointer. Thanks.

There is still nothing on there web site yet about this machine. This is from my other post and the provider manual:

It's got a Greenwich Mean Time Offset (setting). Although no adjustable clock, it does allow for time zone offsets. The manual says "This feature is used to synchronize the time with Encore software, if used." [note: it does not say Encore Pro - it only says Encore software]

[cinco777]

socalmonkey wrote

It's got a Greenwich Mean Time Offset (setting). Although no adjustable clock, it does allow for time zone offsets. The manual says "This feature is used to synchronize the time with Encore software, if used." [note: it does not say Encore Pro - it only says Encore software]

This is NOT a machine LCD time zone offset. What Respironics is describing is what it has had all along in that the Software (Encore Pro in the past) has made the adjustment to local time. What I thought you were claiming is that a user could set the time zone offset on the machine! My mistake for thinking that they would finally do something to help a user without software!

[socalmonkey]

socalmonkey wrote

It's got a Greenwich Mean Time Offset (setting). Although no adjustable clock, it does allow for time zone offsets. The manual says "This feature is used to synchronize the time with Encore software, if used." [note: it does not say Encore Pro - it only says Encore software]

This is NOT a machine LCD time zone offset. What Respironics is describing is what it has had all along in that the Software (Encore Pro in the past) has made the adjustment to local time. What I thought you were claiming is that a user could set the time zone offset on the machine! My mistake for thinking that they would finally do something to help a user without software!

It is an adjustment on the machine. The old one didn't have this adjustment. Tomorrow I may be able to confirm this. Because the adjustment IS on the machine. It says it's for the software... but why wouldn't it effect the reporting on the screen? Sooner or later we'll get this answered.

But this is a new setting available to the provider... on the machine. The old one didn't do it on the machine, the software did the correction based on your local computer clock setting. That was my understanding of how it previously worked. This is new. Why would they bother putting it on the machine, if it has no effect on the LCD? My experience with it so far, is that's what it does. I just have to confirm the time it happens, which should be noon (local time).

[cinco777]

SocalMonkey, please describe how you enter the offset on the machine. Does the new PR1 LCD screen display something like "Enter Local Time Offset" and you use the buttons to scroll to a -7, for example (since you live on the West Coast), then it is very likely that it is using the offset as you claim to set the machine to Local Time for the LCD averages, etc. To help us understand what the PR1 really provides, please describe, in detail, what you do manually on the machine, including what is displayed and what & how you enter the requested information. Thanks.

[socalmonkey]

It is basically just like you described.

On the machine, in the Provider Mode setup screen, you scroll (by rotating the control wheel) through 20 possible adjustments, and your now on the last one. It says "GMT Offset". Select it by pressing on the control wheel. Then you rotate as the number changes. Rotating to the left you get minus numbers, and to the right plus offset numbers. In my case, I rotated it to say -7 and then pushed the control wheel to confirm that setting. Then rotate it to the "Back" button, and press select puts me back in the setup screen.

This morning, I wrote down all the data from the LCD display and it's the same as last night. So a little before noon, I will start checking it. My findings will be reported back here shortly.

[socalmonkey]

YES, the answer is YES!

The PR System One does change the data at 12 noon on the LCD (with the proper time zone offset). I checked minutes before 12 noon. I have an atomic clock that I went by. Checked it again at 12:00:10 and it had changed! It is now showing me my therapy numbers from last night (different from the numbers I wrote down this morning). So there you have it. Confirmed!

[Tamara]

Does anyone have a modem for their REMstar System One Auto A-Flex? If so, wireless or wired?

[13thOwl]

Does anyone have a modem for their REMstar System One Auto A-Flex? If so, wireless or wired?

Mine is wired (attached to the phone line).