Trucking, OSA and CPAP

From: Transport Topics
http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemp ... s-Problems

FMCSA Wants Equipment in Sleeper Cabs to Treat Apnea; Trucking Sees Problems
3/12/2012 8:10:00 AM

... Truckload carrier Schneider National, Green Bay, Wis., has long been a proponent of sleep apnea screening and CPAP use, but Thomas DiSalvi, the carrier’s director of safety and loss management, also said there are problems with in-truck usage. ...

... Another issue is power for the machine, which uses alternating current, and for the humidifier’s heater, which can use AC or direct current from a battery.

There also are tractor-design issues such as where to store a CPAP machine and what sort of electrical and other fixtures should be built into a truck to accommodate the machines. ...

... Paul Menig, CEO of technology consulting firm Tech-I-M, said there are energy-saving versions of CPAP called “bi-level” or “automated” that operate more efficiently. ...

I found this last quote particularly interesting:

... there are energy-saving versions of CPAP called “bi-level” or “automated” that operate more efficiently. ...

My VPAP Auto operates more efficiently than my original Elite? How is this so? Am I thinking energy and they are thinking therapy results??

My husband is over the road trucker. Doesn't have sleep apnea so no issues there.
His truck does have an APU which would provide power for a cpap machine but it does do weird things sometimes. Like the microwave...sometimes it works on the level of a microwave at home and sometimes it takes 2 or 3 times as long to heat something up. Coffee pot is the largest drain on the APU though...always takes a long time to make coffee.

Some trucks still don't have APUs...some APUs are better than others.

Slinky wrote:[snip]

... there are energy-saving versions of CPAP called “bi-level” or “automated” that operate more efficiently. ...

My VPAP Auto operates more efficiently than my original Elite? How is this so? Am I thinking energy and they are thinking therapy results??

I think that statement was just poorly worded. All the machines do essentially the same thing: they blow air. Trade publications are often written by people who are under tight deadline pressure, so they often either haven't gathered the salient details, or they are omitted for the sake of brevity. I expect the "engineering concerns" regard the quality of 120VAC electrical power that is required in order to operate a medical device, and the consequent liability to a fleet operator in the event of an accident.

I've always suspected that a journalism major is the easiest to get.
--especially when you merely pretend to do the research,
(because only the writer knows what's BS and what's not.)

Unless you know something about the subject, Chunky, then you catch all of their mistakes. Some of which actually make you shutter at the ignorance.