MIRAGE SWIFT LT QUALITY POLL--THE RESMED CHARADE???

Zeratul wrote:...I actually used to build machines that are used to make these kinda things.
...Sadley I know that this is a hard part to manufacture. Many things can cause the size of the shot inside the mold to be more than it should be and that would cause a stiffer and dens part. Not comfortable for me. The quality control for this part is going to have to be extreamly tight. I will be inspecting this part before opening the package. If not similar to what I have it will be sent back.

Zeratul, Thank you for posting this. This is valuable info, since you have first hand experience in plastic manufacture.

plr66 wrote:Zeratul, your post is indeed ironic in a certain way, if I am following you clearly. I think you're saying that you like the newer, "softer" pillow because your initial experience is that it is less abrasive to your nose. Valid point! I certainly did have to go through about 1-2 weeks of feeling a bit raw and sensitive as my nose adjusted to the new intrusion of the sturdier pillow. Having quickly built up that "toughness," however, my nose has loved the more secure seal of the firmer pillow. I'm sure there are a lot of analogies to this, but I can't think of one at the moment. The critical issue as I see it, is how long the seal maintains its integrity. And I do not believe the softer ones have stood the test. If you are able to continue to use your softer pillow effectively for more than 1-6 months with no increase in leak rate and with equal or better AHI, I will be very surprised. But do keep us posted on that.

plr66, After seeing Zeratul's post, here is my guess about the whole situation I think the pillows I have from both purchases 7 months apart are both of the thinner type! [Assuming the thicker/stiffer ones are the ones I had NOT seen, I would like the thinner ones better:) My guess is that Resp. made the cushions initially in Aus. and now are making the thinner improved ones in China. The people who bought very early, or got them from stale stock might have got the thicker ones on their early purchases --- JUST A PURE GUESS.

The seal for air pressure is NOT maintained by the stiffness of the walls, in fact the thinner it is, the seal would be better to some limit. This is how it is supposed to work: as the air pressure increases, and assuming there is no big gaping holes thru where all that air could easily leak out, the outer walls of the cushion will spread out and the wall ends will land on the insides of the nostril edges, just a few millimeters depth of the cushion wall will touch the nostril and seal it. The more pressure, the tighter the seal!! To some extend it is the nostril wall that prevents the cushion wall ends from ripping out --- but even very thin plastic is still way too strong for cpap pressures. Of course the cushion overall has to have enough stiffness so it will stay together without collapsing into a jello until the pressure builds up. Even cushion wall edges as thin as that of balloons would be more than enough to hold the typical pressures of cpap. Some of the users here assume incorrectly that the seal is provided by the strap pulling the cushion against the bottom end of the nostrils --- NOT SO. That is the reason many people tighten the straps way too much and end up getting discomfort / pain; furthermore over tightening prevents a good seal from forming.

feeling_better wrote: plr66, After seeing Zeratul's post, here is my guess about the whole situation I think the pillows I have from both purchases 7 months apart are both of the thinner type! [Assuming the thicker/stiffer ones are the ones I had NOT seen, I would like the thinner ones better:) My guess is that Resp. made the cushions initially in Aus. and now are making the thinner improved ones in China. The people who bought very early, or got them from stale stock might have got the thicker ones on their early purchases --- JUST A PURE GUESS.

Gosh, feeling_better, I love ya and all the great tinkering you've done to the benefit of this forum for a long time! I just don't think I understand your summarizing & concluding remarks based upon one poster's opinion here which actually differs from 80% of the rest of the posters to this thread. Especially if you have not had the older sturdier ("stale stock" is completely out of line as a perjorative and biased descriptive) to compare directly from your own experience....which was requested in the original post.

feeling_better wrote:The seal for air pressure is NOT maintained by the stiffness of the walls, in fact the thinner it is, the seal would be better to some limit.

Hmm. How do back this up? I think you might be disregarding the entire point of the double walled nasal pillow, and the responses of this poll. The inner wall needs to be sturdier in order to sustain the seal. The outer thinner layer is the way to begin the seal and help with comfort. Thus the entire reason for the design of the thinner outer and stiffer inner layer, I believe. This has worked well for 80% of the responders here, including myself. Thinner inner and thinner outer makes only for a doomed to fail-quicker, though initially more comfortable pillow. IMHO.

Question for those who have used the Swift LT & Mirage Swift II.
I recently received both as a newbie. It appears to me that the Swift II pillows are more sturdy and fit better. The LT Swift appears weaker and is too flexible. Was the old LT pillow of similar texture and durability as the Swift II Pillows?
I feel that the Swift II stays in place better and has fewer leaks.

DNAClone wrote:Question for those who have used the Swift LT & Mirage Swift II.
I recently received both as a newbie. It appears to me that the Swift II pillows are more sturdy and fit better. The LT Swift appears weaker and is too flexible. Was the old LT pillow of similar texture and durability as the Swift II Pillows?
I feel that the Swift II stays in place better and has fewer leaks.

Good question for the forum, DNAClone, but I think that is better debated in the following Poll/thread:
viewtopic/t41647/Vote-Poll-for-Swift-LT ... ft-II.html. Would like to keep this thread specific to the topic.
Thanks

My Swift LT is a week old, and the left side of the pillow collapsed last night. I tried to get it to stay open, but after 20 Min. of fiddleing with it, I put the large in. I emailed ResMed about it, probably won't do much good...

Since I've only had my Swift LT about 3 1/2 months I didn't vote. So far I'm still loving this mask and have had no problems with it. I have had one nostril collapse but by shutting the machine off then repositioning the pillows the problem is solved. I plan to get another pillow when I have a chance just to have a backup but sofar I see no reason to replace the current one. Like the above poster I believe that the thinness of the outer wall does enable sealing but when the mask is moved while under pressure it can contribute to a collapse.

UPDATE 5/14/09: I received a conference call this evening from Phil and Mindu (sorry if that spelling is wrong) of the ResMed engineering team in Sydney Australia along with US Product Mgr Jennifer, to address my identified issue here. This was an unrushed discussion of nearly 30 minutes which addressed several different issues identified in the posts they have read on this Poll (and forum?). I am not sure of other posts they have read here on this forum in regard to the Swift LT, but the focus was on input from this Poll--and they are clearly watching this thread.

I guess I would only say at this point that they confirm they are really doing a thorough investigation of the materials, molds & mfg processes for this pillow. They said that there have been no changes in plant location nor materials properties since the mask was introduced. They acknowledge that there could be a problem with quality control, and are studying this immediately.

Interestingly, they differentiated the issue of folks posting on this thread who have had initial success and then failed with the mask within 30-90 days, saying this could likely be an issue of mask cleaning, facial hygiene, natural life of the silicone material, etc. rather than product integrity failure. I voiced some questioning of this conclusion, given the level of education our listers have about these basic issues, and the fact that the original issue was the major difference in life & effectiveness of the sturdier material for the base and inner nasal pieces than we now have in the newer ones.

Since no one has PM'd me to offer an older pillow, I am considering sending my original "ideal one" for the cause.....not at all meaning to sound dramatic here. I just would like to believe that the ResMed team take this concern seriously about a mask that could be a huge success for them. I've been testing the flimsier pillows to see if I could safely live with one until they turn mine around in a week or two.

Until further notice...And I am guessing that if ResMed has any disagreement with how I am reporting things here, they would certainly post to the thread. Thanks to them, and thanks to all who are posting to this issue.

Thanks for that informative update, plr66. Good to know that ResMed is on the case.

So I slapped my forehead sometime yesterday evening as it came to me that I just missed an incredible opportunity to offer myself up as a Sacrificial Courier.---That I could suffer a 3 week leave from my work to travel to Australia in order to carry the Perfect Swift LT pillow on my own person, directly to the ResMed doors, safe & unharmed by our postal service, for the cause of Scientific Research and Development...... if they would simply pay for my plane tickets .....

GROAN~~~Yes, I would suffer, but would place The Cause above my own discomfort. Yes. I could be a martyr in the making! And thus the added bonus that my health would not be placed in jeopardy by giving up my Perfect Pillow during the transport and research weeks.

If the ResMed engineering team and our US Product Mgr are still monitoring this thread.....
SO WHADDYA THINK, GUYS??! DEAL???

I did have to decide not to send my original pillow to ResMed because I just haven't had a good night's sleep for the past week, with higher AHI and leaking from each of my trials of 5-6 of the newer pillows I had collected. I hate that I needed to make that choice.

any more updates on this issue? I am trying to follow it closely since I too am convinced there is a difference between the first one I was given vs. my replacement pillows

brucelegs wrote:any more updates on this issue? I am trying to follow it closely since I too am convinced there is a difference between the first one I was given vs. my replacement pillows

Well yes. I am very sorry to say that the ResMed folks did not jump on my offer to personally hand-deliver my original & excellent nasal pillow in a silk-lined case to their very door, for the price of a mere plane ticket on their part. Sigh~~

Seriously, now. Just received a couple of calls from Product Mgr Jennifer today, and she says the guys in Sydney have received the newer collection of pillows I sent them at their request. They also asked me to check the tiny tiny number on the outside base of the pillow I consider to be superior. I'll not share that number here, so as not to further bias things. But it might be interesting (or perhaps more confusing) if those of you who are totally convinced as I am, that an older LT pillow has been much better from the start than the newer ones, check that number and write it here in a post. It takes a magnifying glass.

The Sydney guys are going to be investigating all this over the next few days, and I will indeed write back on this thread as soon as they contact me with results and conclusions. I just did not want to keep bumping this thread to the top until I had some substance to report. I'm very anxious to see how all this will conclude.

Edit to note that if you are looking for the tiny number on the base of the pillow, you need to hold it with the large opening toward you and the fatter base down/thinner side with the ResMed imprint, up.

old (good one) 5
new(not so good one) 8

I enjoyed using it when I did use it, moved on to a better mask since.

Even with my reading glasses and a magnifying glass, I could not find a small number. A more detailed location please.