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Archived SH Discussions [Q&A Thread from Jun-2014 thru Aug 2015]
RE: SleepyHead Software - Beginner's Guide, Questions, Answers & Discussion
(12-10-2014, 06:56 AM)Insomnia Wrote:
(12-04-2014, 02:01 PM)Coroboree Wrote: There should (can?) be no interaction between your data card and your your CPAP machine and your data card if the machine is not turned on or plugged in.
SH on the other hand seems to be able to display a sleep period, shorter than your total sleep session, if your total sleep session consists of a number of periods joined together, eg if they are separated by short disconnects of your CPAP, or perhaps periods of wakefulness. I would doubt if the card became flaky, but the switch could become intermittent. In this case the card should still be able to be read, but not altered.

Thanks for the corroboration.

I get up several times in the night and turn the machine off before removing the mask so as to not get inflated leak figures. When I stumble back to bed and don't put the mask back on, I just later make a note of whether I slept or not in the blank interval.

I notice that the time at the bottom right corner of the middle-pane daily data is always more than the sum of the sessions shown in the bottom of the left-hand pane, and the time shown under the AHI figure. That must be total blower time for the night vs. actual sleep time.

Is it possible for an SD card to go flaky from being removed daily from the APAP machine and the computer, the way I've had camera SD cards fail? I've been locking the card before it's read, just in case a plain-vanilla Win 7 starts behaving like a Mac and overwrites that data if not protected.

Last, is there way to turn gridlines on in the middle-column charts so that I can read how close I came to maximum set pressure without using a ruler to do so?

If in doubt, buy a new card, and compare the 2 (the switch could be faulty). The problem is not (hopefully) that the computer is overwriting your machine data, but that if the card is not locked it will write identifying files on it to help the OS to determine whether it is new peripheral, or has been seen before. By locking the card, it becomes read only - in a computer, and in a machine. There is no interaction between the card and the machine if the machine is not turned on.

For the Daily Report you can use the green cursor to read out values of a graph at any point. The Ordinal scale is not scientific, so not always easy to read (the divisions can be weird numbers),
the cursor is a nuisance to read, but comes in handy.

A question is how does the machine determine the sleep period(s)? there are actually 5 (depending how you count) sleep stages, and the deep sleep and REM cycles are the most important. The machine cannot tell, or record anything about your sleep, if you are not wearing the mask and the machine is on - but there are other devices that can, to a more precise degree than a CPAP machine, and can be used with/without a CPAP machine.
RE: SleepyHead Software - Beginner's Guide, Questions, Answers & Discussion
(12-11-2014, 02:45 AM)Coroboree Wrote: The machine cannot tell, or record anything about your sleep, if you are not wearing the mask and the machine is on ....

If the machine is on and the mask is not used, the reading is a large, large leak.

Look at the Respironics product selection chart (search string: "System One comparison guides" - I still can't post URLs). Different models have different capabilities and reporting abilities depending on what the patient needs or the doctor requires.

In my case, if the machine is on and I breathe very regularly through a mask but I am awake - for example, to make up the difference between the time I slept and the minimum 4 hours of use that the insurance company wanted to see - the algorithm ignores that time as sleep time, but counts it as use time. The insurance company wants to know that you're making a consistent effort; your doctor may care what good it's doing you to put the machine and mask on.

I remember that the machine's manual explained that the machine detects the change to more-or-less involuntary breathing. That's what's counted as sleep time.

As to getting alpha, delta, or REM data, the machines for home use don't incorporate those capabilities for the same price point. SH already gives you a wealth of information that the manufacturers' software will not show to patients, but it can't go beyond the machines' designed features, right?


RE: SleepyHead Software - Beginner's Guide, Questions, Answers & Discussion
(12-11-2014, 02:18 AM)Coroboree Wrote:
(12-10-2014, 12:37 PM)PaytonA Wrote:
(12-10-2014, 11:59 AM)Coroboree Wrote: Also confusing is the explanation that I received for the CA flag in that it was that it was like I was holding my breath (and blocking the flow), but the LH Sidebar on the Daily Report expands CA to Clear Airway, which sounds like there is no impediment to flow - not even a mask, or at least at most a mask, unattached to a face; but holding my breath would seem to be like a Blocked Airway.

Sorry, I guess it was a bad analogy. That was not an explanation but an attempt at an illustration of the previous explanation. I do not know about you but I can hold my breath without blocking my airway.

You still need to determine what questions really need to be asked.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

Interesting concept! So how could the machine tell the response of a pressure pulse if you were breathing in, holding your breath, or breathing out? It could distinguish between these conditions by monitoring the flow, which would be either positive, zero, or negative - so how would a pressure pulse help?

Interesting, since I have not mentioned pressure pulses anywhere in this thread. Intentional misdirection?

Admin Note:
PaytonA passed away in September 2017
Click HERE to read his Memorial Thread

~ Rest in Peace ~
RE: SleepyHead Software - Beginner's Guide, Questions, Answers & Discussion
(12-11-2014, 09:41 AM)Insomnia Wrote:
(12-11-2014, 02:45 AM)Coroboree Wrote: The machine cannot tell, or record anything about your sleep, if you are not wearing the mask and the machine is on ....

If the machine is on and the mask is not used, the reading is a large, large leak.

Look at the Respironics product selection chart (search string: "System One comparison guides" - I still can't post URLs). Different models have different capabilities and reporting abilities depending on what the patient needs or the doctor requires.

In my case, if the machine is on and I breathe very regularly through a mask but I am awake - for example, to make up the difference between the time I slept and the minimum 4 hours of use that the insurance company wanted to see - the algorithm ignores that time as sleep time, but counts it as use time. The insurance company wants to know that you're making a consistent effort; your doctor may care what good it's doing you to put the machine and mask on.

I remember that the machine's manual explained that the machine detects the change to more-or-less involuntary breathing. That's what's counted as sleep time.

As to getting alpha, delta, or REM data, the machines for home use don't incorporate those capabilities for the same price point. SH already gives you a wealth of information that the manufacturers' software will not show to patients, but it can't go beyond the machines' designed features, right?

Thanks I appreciate your explanation. When SH reports a time on the Daily LH Sidebar is that and onset time, or a duration time?

If SH records what machine thinks is sleep state, why is that not plotted on Daily and Overview pages?

I am not worried about usage time - not an issue.

I mostly breathe involuntarily awake or asleep - only force breathe when I am conscious of Oxygen depletion, after exertion or holding breath (eg underwater). I sometimes meditate observing breath without wilfulness. I would assume that machine operates by monitoring airflow in and out.

As for R comparison chart do you mean: <https://www.google.comsearch?q=Respironics+system+comparison+chart&biw=1238&bih=886&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=dOSJVOPjN5HpoASX0ILwDw&ved=0CDYQsAQ>?
RE: SleepyHead Software - Beginner's Guide, Questions, Answers & Discussion
On page 23 of this thread there are several posts about the CMS-50 series oximeter. After looking at the CMS-50F on Amazon and seeing that it purposely listed this model as NOT working with SH even though SH v9.8-1 says differently, I decided to order one and see for myself. This unit works fine with SH! In the Daily -> descriptive data section(lower left) the parameters "SpO2 Drop" and "Pulse Change" are added. The graph area has "Pulse Rate" and "SpO2" displayed. I noticed that dates that have an oximeter reading associated with the xPAP data are displayed in red rather than blue. This is SLICK!
Crimson Nape
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com
___________________________________
Useful Links -or- When All Else Fails:
The Guide to Understanding OSCAR
OSCAR Chart Organization
Attaching Images and Files on Apnea Board
Apnea Helpful Tips

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
RE: SleepyHead Software - Beginner's Guide, Questions, Answers & Discussion
Some of my SleepyHead data is corrupted and I'm wondering if there's some way I could either 1) just delete the data for certain days or 2) delete all data that's older than a certain date?

TIA

RE: SleepyHead Software - Beginner's Guide, Questions, Answers & Discussion
All the data is stored in a directory named SleepyHeadData. As to which files to delete would be a major undertaking. Both the machine's native files and SH's file are stored there. A lot of the XPAP machines keep the data on the SD card for a year. It is possible that even if you deleted the files in the data directory, they would be restored the next time you import new data. You would have to delete the files on the SD as well. A simpler solution might be exclude the days in the "Daily" screen view. Select the date you don't want, then turn off the sessions listed in the lower left part of the screen. If you don't see the sessions, scroll down. I hope this may help.
Crimson Nape
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com
___________________________________
Useful Links -or- When All Else Fails:
The Guide to Understanding OSCAR
OSCAR Chart Organization
Attaching Images and Files on Apnea Board
Apnea Helpful Tips

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
RE: SleepyHead Software - Beginner's Guide, Questions, Answers & Discussion
SleepyHead is wonderful; a godsend. Mark is brilliant, and kudos to Mark for creating such a valuable and needed tool.

I don't want to sound like SH and Mark aren't doing enough; of course they are. But I also would like to see SH do one more thing, which is allow the user to create groups of days representative to periods of trial of a particular change in therapy, and then compare the results of the therapy between those groups.

For instance, if I change pressure settings for two or three weeks, or change to a different mask, it would be really helpful if we could get SH to aggregate that data (which it already contains) into a report of how we did on one group of nights (before pressure was changed, for instance) and also aggregate the data on the next group of nights, so that we could easily see what the change does to the numbers. SH seems to do that already with pressure, although just for AHI, but for some reasons the numbers do not seem to match, which I find puzzling.

For instance, if I change pressure for 30 days I would expect the AHI number listed in "Changes to prescription settings" to match the AHI number in "CPAP Statistics" directly above that in the 30-day column, at least on that 30th day. But they do not match.

Being able to choose groups of days to aggregate data and generate reports would allow sensible titration by the patient based on the patient knowing what is different for them on one pressure or another, one mask or another, etc.

The way SH is constructed currently, data is aggregated over all days at a particular pressure setting only, or over arbitrary sets of days (last night, last week, last 30, last 6 mo, last year, etc.), or in calendar months. That makes it difficult to interpolate what the numbers are for a particular group of days representing specific therapy changes.

If I change a mask midway in a string of days at a single pressure setting, there is no practical way to parse out that data separately allowing me to see what the aggregate numbers are for days with one mask, compared to the following days with a different mask, unless I change pressure at the same time, which would go against sensible titration logic (change only one parameter and then get enough data over enough nights to find out what that means to the numbers) and would only yield raw AHI.

Don't get me wrong, SH is impressive and does a lot, and is a very valuable tool. This is just a suggestion for how I think it might even be made more valuable.
RE: SleepyHead Software - Beginner's Guide, Questions, Answers & Discussion
TyroneShoes,
On version 0.9.8-1 testing(at least), there is a way to achieve what you want. I did it to compare 3 different masks.

The easiest way but is not permanent; Go to the Overview page;
Option 1:
Select "Custom" from the display options in the lower left of the screen. Since there is a flaw (Undocumented feature) in the dates, select the day after the beginning date and the date after your desired last day for the test period. (e.g.: you want the 7th thru the 17th; select the 8th and the 18th)

Option2:
Make sure all the dates you want are displayed. If not, select "Everything" from the options in the lower left of the screen. Right-click out in the graph area to rest it. With your mouse pointer, select the first date you want and, while still holding the left mouse button down, drag your pointer to the ending date and release the button. Your selected dates should be displayed along with the statistical data based only off of them.

The harder way - Permanent
Create as many users as you want special date ranges. Go to the SH data directory and copy the data from your main account into the new users accounts. Then go into each user account's data and delete the date files you don't want.

I hope I've provided you with a viable alternative.

I just read my own post; It almost sounds like I know what I'm talking about. . . Thank heaven for Holiday Inn Express!
Crimson Nape
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com
___________________________________
Useful Links -or- When All Else Fails:
The Guide to Understanding OSCAR
OSCAR Chart Organization
Attaching Images and Files on Apnea Board
Apnea Helpful Tips

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
RE: SleepyHead Software - Beginner's Guide, Questions, Answers & Discussion
(12-12-2014, 09:43 AM)sgearhart Wrote: On page 23 of this thread there are several posts about the CMS-50 series oximeter. After looking at the CMS-50F on Amazon and seeing that it purposely listed this model as NOT working with SH even though SH v9.8-1 says differently, I decided to order one and see for myself. This unit works fine with SH! In the Daily -> descriptive data section(lower left) the parameters "SpO2 Drop" and "Pulse Change" are added. The graph area has "Pulse Rate" and "SpO2" displayed. I noticed that dates that have an oximeter reading associated with the xPAP data are displayed in red rather than blue. This is SLICK!
Ah well, I'm not using an oximeter, so I lack all those benefits. of which you speak of so highly!Wink



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