CMS-50D+ Oximeter Review

I received my new CMS-50D+ oximeter a few days ago but held off trying an overnight measurement until after our recent road trip to go spoil the grandkids. Last night I finally figured out how to get it to record (no thanks to the "Chinglish" instructions), strapped on my mask, put the oximeter on my index finger and eventually dropped off to sleep. This morning I took the device off my finger and turned off the recording function.

Later on, when I got around to it, I was able to download the data and create and print a report. Just for grins, I also ran last nights Encore Pro data so I could compare the two.

A few observations:

-- The oximeter remained on my finger all night, which was a bit of a surprise. It's not so tight as to be uncomfortable and I really expected it to fall off during the night.

-- It took me about 4 or 5 tries to get the recording function to work last night, but that could easily be operator error and no fault of the unit's.

-- Downloading the data this morning was also a bit of a challenge, but once I got the right combination, it worked flawlessly and only took a few seconds. I figured out that I had to enter patient data (name, height, weight, etc.) before it would save the file. It will assign a meaningless file name unless you specify something more recognizable to you.

-- On my cheapo little printer (HP Deskjet D1420) it seemed to take f-o-r-e-v-e-r to print out the one-page report. I've never had that experience with any other document (or photos either) and I'm not sure what would cause it. It must be set to automatically print at the highest resolution or something.

Despite my 12.5 AHI, I was pleased to see that my oxygen levels remained high throughout the night. I had just 3 or 4 minor events, all of them above 88%. I'm hardly an expert at this but I think that's acceptable. I'll do another report to show to my primary care doc when I have my next physical exam in August.

Overall, I can't say anything really negative about the CMS-50D+. It seems a little more flimsy than the one at my sleep study but it didn't hurt my finger during the night as theirs did. There are probably better units out there, but this one seems to do what it's supposed to do (once I got past its little quirks) which is about all I can ask. I assume that the next time will go a little smoother now that I've been through the complete drill.

Don

I tape it gently to my finger. Want to blow your mind, wear it for an hour without the mask.

i bought the same model a few months back and the only down side was as you describe the Chinglish instructions but i had expected that- to be honest i did not pay much attention to the manual anyway and found it easy to use but i have used a large variety of oximeters during my Nursing career so this was pretty self explanatory- not sure why it took a long time for the reports to print out, i can't say that i have noticed it being any slower than a document of similar file size from other sources so that is interesting.

I agree though, that if you really want an eyeopening experience, try recording yourself asleep with no cpap for an hour or so, that is scarey.

elader wrote:I tape it gently to my finger. Want to blow your mind, wear it for an hour without the mask.

Mine (CMS50E) stays on with ease untapped to my finger.......I'm not a highly active sleeper which helps. I did nap with it. My 02 sats dropped between the low 80's/mid 90's the entire hour of sleep. Yesterday I held my breathe for 60 seconds and 02 dropped to 83...took longer than I expected to raise to the 90's afterwards Last night I change it from one hand to the other during my sleep positioning it upside down. The morning report still was consistent with previous ones. Has anyone had it to actually have 100 sats on the display?

elg5cats

Is the cms 50 the recorder of choice? Who put you on to this? Your doctor? Your own searching for answers? I'm coming to the conclusion that recording oxygen saturation seems like it should go hand in hand with *PAP treatment. Am I wrong or missing something here? I have to take care of myself mostly on my own and want to do things as well I can under my circumstances. You people are the greatest! Your helping me save my life. Thanks!

Husky Lover wrote:Is the cms 50 the recorder of choice? Who put you on to this? !

I think there are a few different options some forum members are choosing. I selected the CMS50E because the battery is rechargable and "it's cute" as elader noted previously.......more the battery than cuteness, though!!!! I became interested in O2 sats monitoring after a previous sleep study's O2 desats documentation resulted in my active involvement in the most recent sleep study. I was curious if I desat with the machine. I've found if I nap with pulse ox without APAP, my 02 sats appear to be overall lower. Thursday night, I had a few apnea events....desats were present with each apnea event and heart rate was increased. I find the data access from ResScan and Pulse Ox very reinforcing for APAP treatment for me. Iim also asthmatic. My last asthma exacerbation, rather than setting an alarm to get up every 2 hours for peak flow checks, I set the alarm on the CMS50 to wake my up if desats started because of asthma.

It stays on my finger without taping.

elg5cats

Husky Lover wrote:Is the cms 50 the recorder of choice? Who put you on to this? Your doctor?

Doctors and the "so-called" sleep care specialists are clueless about treating this condition. They only know how to diagnose. You are on your own for treatment. Lucky for you, this site is the best place to learn how to treat your condition effectively.

There are a few other recording oximeters out there but the CMS 50 is perhaps the least expensive.

It can be challenge to work with. But for its price i think its worth it. My sleep doctor was surprised i had found a recordable one for the price, he thought the cheapest recordable one was $250.

I only have two issues with it so far.

1) internal battery, when its gone the unit it worthless.
2) Time, Its seems to have the correct date but the time is off. Apparently I go to bed around 6am according to the time. I can't figure out how to set the time

It's a great device. I've had mine for several months now and it keeps on ticking. The reports are way cool. The price is right, what else could you ask for?

Just to add some detail: The CMS-50E has the internal lithium rechargeable battery, and costs a bit more than the CMS-50D+.

The CMS-50D+, which I bought because it was the cheapest stand-alone recording unit I could find, uses 2 AAA batteries. I am using rechargeable NiMH batteries in mine. I like that since I worried that if the lithium battery in the 50E goes bad, it would be difficult to replace.

According to the specs, the 50D+ is a simpler unit than the 50E. The 50D+ doesn't have any audible alarms, for instance. It also has no clock at all - it just records elasped time.

Also note that the CMS-50D,,, without the Plus, doesn't record.

Well I decided to buy a CMS-50D+. Got what I believe is a good price, free shipping. Got it a few days earlier than I expected so was able to try it last night. Everybody's experience equals mine so I won't duplicate the review.

I will say that coincidently last night was perhaps my best night yet. My AHI was the lowest so far and it was the first night that I recall dreaming. Sleep was interrupted at 5AM when my dog wanted to go out. I found the device at the foot of my bed! Looking at the report, 5:21 into the recording an abnormality occurred which lasted for one minute. As I put it back on my finger when I walked to the kitchen to let Kanook out, that would make it around a minute so I must have flung it somehow as he started his woofing to get my attention, before I completely awakened. No, I do not normally throw things at my dog!

I am pleased with it so far . I'm going to try and convince my wife to wear it for a night because she has some symptoms of apnea, but not according to her.

Oh, the report was what I had expected. The APAP is doing it's thing but it's nice to see the result on paper. Next I'm going to wear it when I'm watching TV late at night and sometimes doze off. It will be interesting to see the results.