Equipment Features

[BowlingJoe]

Hi. I've been on CPAP since April (pressure is 10.2) and had a couple of concerns about my equipment shown below. First, I was told there is no backup battery option in the event of a power outage. Is that a major concern with any of you? And if so how can it be addressed externally?

Also, I asked the sleep clinic (whom I go through) about being able to view my critical information such as apnea count per session. They told me that it's only available via download from the smart card. I thought I've heard of patients being able to access this information on the front panel. Could it be that they've blocked me from viewing this data?

Thanks very much for the help.

[Pugsy]

On the LED screen you can view (once it gets turned on)
7 and 30 day averages for AHI and leak
you can reset the average to zero each night to get a sort of nightly idea what is going on.
On the Respironics machines the information that you can see on the LED screen is very limited. I have the Encore Viewer software. It is available for public purchase. Yes, it gets the data from the smart card. It shows much more detail than the LED screen.

I do believe there is a battery thing available for this unit, I will try to find it, plus if you do a forum search for backup battery, there are some other alternatives. People go camping with their machines, so it is available.

Below are the directions for get to your clinician menu to turn on the limited data if you can't get to it now. Be careful, this is where we also can adjust pressures.

Menu for M Series Auto

1. Hold down the <- -> buttons while plugging in the power on the back, wait for 2 beeps, release buttons.
2. Press the + key. <- -> buttons move to next field, -/+ keys decrement/increment
3. Check the following field(s):

-Therapy Mode = (CPAP/Auto)

-Auto:Max = (default=20.0cm)

-Auto:Min = (default=4.0cm)

-C-Flex Setting = (options are off, 1, 2 or 3)

-AutoRamp Time = (options are 05 to 45 min)

-AutoRamp Pressure = cm (4cm->AutoMin)

-Mask Alert Feature = On (On/Off)

-Auto Off Feature = Off (On/off)

-Split Night Time = Off (off, 120, 180, 240)

-Show AHI/Leak Feature = On (On/Off)

Press On/Off button to exit.

==========Resetting LCD Display Data====================

To reset LCD Therapy data (does NOT erase any data from SmartCard):

1. Hold down the (<-) (->) buttons while plugging in the power on the back,
wait for 2 beeps or 5 seconds, release buttons.
2. Press the (->) key and navigate to Therapy screen.
3. Press and HOLD down the (-) minus key for 5 seconds and/or until therapy data is reset to Zero.
4. Press the (->) key to scroll back to main menu, press (+) key to enter Setup or
On/Off button to exit.

[El Pap]

Here is Respironic's battery backup option for your unit. https://www.cpap.com/productpage-bundle ... undle.html

[cinco777]

Check your PM folder for the 2-pg Provider Instuctions for the M-Series AutoCPAP.

[Pugsy]

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/respir ... -pack.html

Respironics own battery pack at above link.

And go to this link below and scroll down where talks about Power Options to see what is needed to make a battery pack of our own.

https://www.cpap.com/cpap-machine/remst ... weroptions

These items are typically not covered by insurance. Maybe that was what your supplier meant because there most definitely are some options for use in the event of no power.

[LinkC]

Sort of.

You can see the 7-day or 30-day average for your AHI (Apnea-Hypopnea Index), which is not the "number" of apneas, but the number per hour of both Ap and Hypop events. That (along with Leak Rate, hrs of use, etc) is available on the front panel.

Of course, with a card reader and software you can see and print reports exactly like your DME would produce.

I think most of us aren't really concerned with a back-up. Power outages aren't that common, and a few hours of sleep without CPAP won't kill you (probably...).

[BowlingJoe]

Thanks, Pugsy, for the great response.....I do appreciate it.

[BowlingJoe]

....and to LPap, cinco777 and linkc. You all are great!

Joe