Experience w/S9 & USB adapter/Oximeter?

[alha]

Hi, Newb here, and have a couple questions. My wife today got her new S9 Elite w/humidifier and heated hose. I just downloaded the 3.13 software - thank you Very Much for the link, the supplier "couldn't" provide it. I want to monitor her data, and send it in to the doc without having to deal with the hassle of getting the provider the cards, etc. What is this, the 1990's? There is this thing called the internet, I've heard. They say it makes sending data directly to someone much easier, anyone have experience doing that?

I also downloaded the clinical manual, and while reading it, came across the options of the USB adapter, and the Oximeter. Does anyone have any experience with these 2 options, and how well do they work. The downloading data off of cards seems a little old fashioned, but a direct USB connection would make sense to me. The provider also offered me a cellular modem for downloading to their location, which seems pretty convenient, but I still would like to control it myself. The sleep center she went to doesn't use the Resmed brand, they use the other big one, can't think of the name at this moment, but I liked everything I read about the S8/9 models, so we went with this one. I believe we made a good choice. She seemed happy with the mask she chose during the testing, but we'll see how things go once she hits the hay.

Does anyone have any info or experience with the Oximeter? That too seems to be a good idea, I might ask the provider for this option as well. Thoughts?

Oh, and Great forum, I've been reading here for a couple days now before registering, there is So much useful info here. Thank You!

[BernieRay]

First off, welcome! I hope your wife finds success - having a supportive spouse is great!

I can't offer any thoughts on the USB adapter, but the oximeter adapter is hard to find, is very expensive, and an actual oximeter is also needed. Most folks buy data-capable, standalone oximeters. The data from those can't be pulled into ResScan, but they're much less expensive and the software does allow a side by side comparison. While I would love to have the data in ResScan, I just can't see spending as much on the oximeter and adapter as the S9 cost, especially since we probably can't reasonably expect the S9 to last much beyond 5 years.

[alha]

Thanks for the reply and well wishes, she is very (hopefully not _too_) optimistic about the changes it will make in her life regarding her energy level, mood and just general feeling of well being. I hope it does everything she believes it can, as I would like her to be as vigorous and full of life as we was when we 1st met 8 years ago. Having a 4yo is hard enough, without having sleep issues thrown into the mix.

and... Holy Cow! You're saying the Oximeter is priced at around a grand? No wonder they are hard to find, at that price, it's surprising they are made at all. It would be nice to have the data integrated, but even I, who likes to buy the best (long term equipment investments) would have a hard time swallowing that one. Is the device designed only to work with this specific unit? One would hope that it would attach with some sort of cable, so it could be moved to the next machine you bought from Resmed, which ever version is used down the road.

Do you know anything about the USB adapter? I think I would like to get this option, it would make doing the data card dance obsolete, it appears?

[msradar65]

Welcome to the group. I also am a S9 user. The data card is really quite uncomplicated. Most fairly recent computers have an SD slot...and quite a few laptops do as well. If you do not have an SD slot then you can purchase an USB Sd card reader for $10 or less. Ebay.com has a ton of them dirt cheap.

I read my card once a week with no issues.

[MikeSharp]

I want to monitor her data, and send it in to the doc without having to deal with the hassle of getting the provider the cards, etc.

I think the first thing to find out is if the doctor is on board with you sending in data via internet, or any other way that doesn't involve taking in a card. Also, there is the matter of the DME being able to document that she is using the device (ie "compliance") so that insurance will continue paying for supplies etc. Your wife's doctor (and DME) even knowing that you've got the software may set up a challenging situation. I've heard of doctors that are comfortable with patients having the software, though it seems that they can't officially say so.

The software does have an export/import function that would appear to give you the ability to send data via email. I've never experimented with it.

As for the USB adapter, I've got one. I bought it from a supplier in Australia before they stopped shipping equipment to the US. It, unfortunately, only allows access to the summary data. Detailed data is only stored on the card. I don't use mine since I prefer to see all the details. I just pull out the card and download the data that way.

Feel free to contact me via PM if you'd like to discuss the USB adapter further.

[idamtnboy]

Does anyone have any experience with these 2 options, and how well do they work. The downloading data off of cards seems a little old fashioned, but a direct USB connection would make sense to me.

Sorry, but the USB adapter doesn't buy you anything other than being able to see the summary data in real time, which in the grand scheme of things, is a pretty useless option. The really good stuff like flow data and when apneas occur are available only in the hi-res data and detail data, and those are only recorded to the SD card. The hi-res and detail data are not stored in the S9. Save your $$ and forget about the USB adapter.

When you download from the card into Resscan be sure to select the options to download all the data, and check the keep as default option. Here's what's stored - 365 days of summary data which gives you an overview of # of events, hours used, pressure settings, and leak rates, and some other stuff. This is stored in the S9 memory and written to the card. In addition the card holds 30 days of detail data for things like leak rate, pressures, minute ventilation, etc., all sampled at the rate of 1 reading every two seconds. The card also stores 7 days of high resolution data, sampled 25 times per second, for flow rate and mask pressure. All data is stored 'round robin', i.e., after 7 days the oldest hi-res data is overwritten with the newest data so there are always only 7 days of hi-res data on the card, 30 days of detail data, and 365 days of summary data.

Don't be surprised if the DME, and/or your sleep doc, suddenly decide that sending data to them via internet isn't practical. Two reasons - one is file size. Seven days of hi-res data, 30 days of detail data, and up to 365 days of summary data can easily add up to a file size, even when zipped, larger than many email programs will permit. The second is the only way to get data into Resscan is off the SD card so the DME would have to take your emailed data and transfer it to a card to get it into their copy of Resmed. That's a hassle they may not want to go through. If they will be satisfied with the printed copies of reports from your Resscan, which are in PDF format, then that's a whole different matter.

[alha]

I want to monitor her data, and send it in to the doc without having to deal with the hassle of getting the provider the cards, etc.

I think the first thing to find out is if the doctor is on board with you sending in data via internet, or any other way that doesn't involve taking in a card. Also, there is the matter of the DME being able to document that she is using the device (ie "compliance") so that insurance will continue paying for supplies etc. Your wife's doctor (and DME) even knowing that you've got the software may set up a challenging situation. I've heard of doctors that are comfortable with patients having the software, though it seems that they can't officially say so.

The software does have an export/import function that would appear to give you the ability to send data via email. I've never experimented with it.

As for the USB adapter, I've got one. I bought it from a supplier in Australia before they stopped shipping equipment to the US. It, unfortunately, only allows access to the summary data. Detailed data is only stored on the card. I don't use mine since I prefer to see all the details. I just pull out the card and download the data that way.

Feel free to contact me via PM if you'd like to discuss the USB adapter further.

Thank you for the info, I think I will PM you this evening after work, just to talk about the real time monitoring, and the price of it. From the post below, it seems that it may not be all that practical to do what I was thinking. Thanks for the reply.

Does anyone have any experience with these 2 options, and how well do they work. The downloading data off of cards seems a little old fashioned, but a direct USB connection would make sense to me.

Sorry, but the USB adapter doesn't buy you anything other than being able to see the summary data in real time, which in the grand scheme of things, is a pretty useless option. The really good stuff like flow data and when apneas occur are available only in the hi-res data and detail data, and those are only recorded to the SD card. The hi-res and detail data are not stored in the S9. Save your $$ and forget about the USB adapter.

When you download from the card into Resscan be sure to select the options to download all the data, and check the keep as default option. Here's what's stored - 365 days of summary data which gives you an overview of # of events, hours used, pressure settings, and leak rates, and some other stuff. This is stored in the S9 memory and written to the card. In addition the card holds 30 days of detail data for things like leak rate, pressures, minute ventilation, etc., all sampled at the rate of 1 reading every two seconds. The card also stores 7 days of high resolution data, sampled 25 times per second, for flow rate and mask pressure. All data is stored 'round robin', i.e., after 7 days the oldest hi-res data is overwritten with the newest data so there are always only 7 days of hi-res data on the card, 30 days of detail data, and 365 days of summary data.

Don't be surprised if the DME, and/or your sleep doc, suddenly decide that sending data to them via internet isn't practical. Two reasons - one is file size. Seven days of hi-res data, 30 days of detail data, and up to 365 days of summary data can easily add up to a file size, even when zipped, larger than many email programs will permit. The second is the only way to get data into Resscan is off the SD card so the DME would have to take your emailed data and transfer it to a card to get it into their copy of Resmed. That's a hassle they may not want to go through. If they will be satisfied with the printed copies of reports from your Resscan, which are in PDF format, then that's a whole different matter.

This is something I didn't know, I didn't realize that the file sizes even when compressed were so huge, as we're just going to start using it this evening. None of my PC's or my laptop have a built in card reader, so I will have to find one of those. I will also contact the supplier as well as the sleep doc and see if they would find it acceptable to just take the .pdf files that the software provides. I'm pretty sure for the first few weeks, they will probably want to do it the old fashioned way and do the card swapping/data transfer procedure, but I will at the same time get the data onto my software and generate the .pdf reports, then send them via email for their review. If they compare the info, and find that it provides all that they are looking for, they might find it acceptable to do it that way.

I mentioned earlier that the supplier also provides a cellular modem to transmit the data to them, that sounds interesting, would save me the work of having to remember to run/email the reports each week. Do you guys know anything about that, and does it work acceptably? Thanks for the great responses!

[idamtnboy]

I mentioned earlier that the supplier also provides a cellular modem to transmit the data to them, that sounds interesting, would save me the work of having to remember to run/email the reports each week. Do you guys know anything about that, and does it work acceptably? Thanks for the great responses!

I don't know how the cellular modem would be used w/ the S9. I think some have mentioned using a modem with other brands of machines, but not the Resmed ones. Unless, Resmed makes some stuff available to DME we don't know anything about and the the modem is connected to the S9 via the USB adapter. This is conceivable, but if that is the case then you don't have the access to the USB port because the modem would be connected to it. But then if the download is done once a day, or once a week, then the port would be available for you to use. Maybe the modem provides a connection to a DME computer just like the USB adapter would connect your own PC to it. Generally speaking, I don't DMEs and doctors are particularly interested in seeing the detail and hi-res data, just compliance, which the USB and modem would provide.

But you still need to plan on downloading from the card if you want to see the detail and hi-res data, which you do need to see to really understand what's going on with the therapy.

[Slinky]

Easiest method? Just buy one of the card readers and a couple of SD cards at Radio Shack or whatever. Use one of the SD cards to download your wife's data to your 'puter and use the proprietary SD card to mail to your DME provider for their coompliance records. Sleep doctors do usually take at least a cursory look at the statistics page. That's it. A rare few might be interested in the Summary and Detailed data - but that would be a rarity.

My sleep pulmo/critical care doctor has a 4 bed sleep lab and they use and prefer Resmed equipment. HOWEVER, I wasn't particularly attentive my last appointment and took the generic SD card in instead. The ditz that does his downloads told me she couldn't use that card, it wasn't a Resmed card. And she got a bit huffy when I reassurred her it would work and offered to do it for her. Sheesh! Like it takes a college degree to do a download and print out a report from ResScan!!

Ah, well. She'll get used to me or will just get her nose snuffed and toes stepped on each time I go in to the office. Her choice. I could care less.

[New user]

HI,

can somebody tell me the link so i can download the software resmed S9?

Does anyone know if it works with apple?

Thank you so much.

[Pugsy]

It is Windows base software. Don't know if you can use it on Apple.

Link is under Uncle_Bob screen name.

viewtopic/t52732/ResScan-310-gt-312.html Check this thread first post.