1. < Sleep Health
Mentor

Want to see all the data stored on your CPAP machine's SD Card?

Posted by John, Volunteer Mentor @johnbishop, Nov 1, 2018

I use a Philips Respironics DreamStation CPAP machine that has an app for your phone and a website you can go to to view the data from the phone app. Some people don't feel comfortable sharing this information so don't use the app. The only way they learn how they are doing is by taking their CPAP machine to their doctor or medical store and have them download the data from the SD card and tell them how they are doing. My first instance of this was taking my CPAP machine back to my Mayo Sleep Medicine doctor at my "Medicare" compliance appointment to make sure I was using the CPAP the minimum of 4 hours a day. They downloaded the data and the nurse went over it with me but it was high level and the details that were shared didn't stick with me.

I have a nephew who uses a CPAP machine but pulled the modem out of it because he didn't want to send the data and have it stored on line. We got to talking about it and I thought there has to be a way to view the data on the SD card using your computer. A little research and I found a program and sent the link to my nephew and he was finally able to see all of his data for the time he's been using a CPAP. He was so impressed that I thought I should give it a try to see how much more data is on the card than what my DreamMapper app on my phone is showing me. I was amazed and if you are the technical type that likes to view and analyze data it might help you understand and make changes that will help with your CPAP usage.

The program I installed to read the SD card is called SleepyHead and can be downloaded from the following website:
-- http://sleepyhead.jedimark.net/

Note: You will need a USB SD card reader to view and import the data from the SD card into the program. Also, make sure when you take the SD card out of the CPAP machine you move the small read/write switch on the card to the locked position so that you don't overwrite the data on the card. Then make sure to move the switch back to the write position so that your CPAP machine can write to the SD card.

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Currenly supported machines:

CPAP
Philips Respironics System One (CPAP Pro, Auto, BiPAP & ASV models)
ResMed S9 models (CPAP, Auto, VPAP)
DeVilbiss Intellipap (Auto)
Fisher & Paykel ICON (CPAP, Auto)

Oximetry
Contec CMS50D+, CMS50E and CMS50F (not 50FW) Oximeters
ResMed S9 Oximeter Attachment
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Anyone else out there in CPAP land tried this and have any tips on how to use the data to improve their sleep?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Sleep Health Support Group.

ILoveDoodie | @ilovedoodie | Mar 24, 2020

Interesting @johnbishop. I wonder why the EPAP numbers on the graph? Unless you don't use the comfort setting and the air is still blowing when you exhale. Ok, downloading SleepyHead now so I can compare! Take care! Great talking with you. EPAP another term I didn't know that I learned so thought you were using BiPAP.

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p2222 | @p2222 | Apr 27, 2020

Just saw this posting and I am very new to this group so please pardon any protocol errors. FYI - The apnea forum has a whole section devoted to OSCAR. http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/index.php

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Mentor
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Apr 27, 2020

Hello @p2222, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Thank you for sharing the information with us. I still use SleepyHead once in awhile but too much information for myself. I mainly focus on the AHI numbers and how to keep them at my target number of an AHI of 4 or less. It's easier for me to understand.
How about you - do you use OSCAR to read your CPAP data? What helps you with the data?

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1 reply
gramps | @gramps | Jun 22, 2020
In reply to @johnbishop "Hello @p2222, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Thank you for sharing the information with us. I..." + (show)
@johnbishop

Hello @p2222, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Thank you for sharing the information with us. I still use SleepyHead once in awhile but too much information for myself. I mainly focus on the AHI numbers and how to keep them at my target number of an AHI of 4 or less. It's easier for me to understand.
How about you - do you use OSCAR to read your CPAP data? What helps you with the data?

Jump to this post

Hi

I've used Oscar to view the information on my resmed S9. I showed the data to a CPAP technician but she said she wasn't allowed to relate to it since it's "not reliable". So I managed to install Rescan (Resmed's software) and it shows me the same summary data as Oscar....
But at least if I send that data to the technician she should look at it.

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2 replies
Mentor
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Jun 22, 2020
In reply to @gramps "Hi I've used Oscar to view the information on my resmed S9. I showed the data..." + (show)
@gramps

Hi

I've used Oscar to view the information on my resmed S9. I showed the data to a CPAP technician but she said she wasn't allowed to relate to it since it's "not reliable". So I managed to install Rescan (Resmed's software) and it shows me the same summary data as Oscar....
But at least if I send that data to the technician she should look at it.

Jump to this post

Hi @gramps, I'm sure the "not reliable" refers to the fact that the CPAP technician did not download the data directly from your CPAP machine. I asked my sleep doctor if I could just bring in the SD card for my follow up appointment instead of lugging the CPAP machine to the appointment. He told me the same thing in different words. It's kind of ridiculous but I think they want to make sure it's your data coming from your CPAP machine.

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gramps | @gramps | Jun 22, 2020

Hi @johnbishop , I think you give my CPAP techician (who is a salesman for the vendor) more credit than I do. 🙂
To get the data out of my machine, the technician needs to remove the card. When they say "not reliable", I think they want to force me to come to them for diagnosis etc., by telling you that only their software (which isn't as easy to get or use as Oscar) is reliable. Going back to them every time increases the chances that they'll push me some other piece of equipment.
But maybe I'm just too cynical....

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1 reply
Mentor
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Jun 22, 2020
In reply to @gramps "Hi @johnbishop , I think you give my CPAP techician (who is a salesman for the..." + (show)
@gramps

Hi @johnbishop , I think you give my CPAP techician (who is a salesman for the vendor) more credit than I do. 🙂
To get the data out of my machine, the technician needs to remove the card. When they say "not reliable", I think they want to force me to come to them for diagnosis etc., by telling you that only their software (which isn't as easy to get or use as Oscar) is reliable. Going back to them every time increases the chances that they'll push me some other piece of equipment.
But maybe I'm just too cynical....

Jump to this post

@gramps, I'm not sure this is helpful but I did find a ResScan Interpretation Guide for ResMed.
ResScan™ Report Interpretation Guide - Apnea Board: http://www.apneaboard.com/ResScan_Interpretation-Guide.pdf

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jesskpicone | @jesskpicone | Jul 24, 2020
In reply to @johnbishop "@lisalucier I haven't had the chance to spend any time going through all of the data..." + (show)
@johnbishop

@lisalucier I haven't had the chance to spend any time going through all of the data yet to figure out what I can learn from it. I listed the currently supported machines by SleepyHead in the discussion description above. Here are a few screen shots as a teaser. There is also a frequently asked questions and a user's guide you can access from the programs help menu. Here's the link to the user's guide.

-- http://sleepyhead.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php?title=SleepyHead_Users_Guide

I'm thinking I need to go through the user's guide first. Being somewhat techie I normally only use them when I can't figure it out using the program.

John

Jump to this post

@johnbishop Do you know how to get the program to give you a column about 4 hour usage in the statistics? I have looked all over both Sleepyhead and OSCAR and I cannot find anything. I need to print out a report for my husband for his job and they only want to see the 4 hour usage and nothing else. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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1 reply
Mentor
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Jul 24, 2020
In reply to @jesskpicone "@johnbishop Do you know how to get the program to give you a column about 4..." + (show)
@jesskpicone

@johnbishop Do you know how to get the program to give you a column about 4 hour usage in the statistics? I have looked all over both Sleepyhead and OSCAR and I cannot find anything. I need to print out a report for my husband for his job and they only want to see the 4 hour usage and nothing else. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jump to this post

Hello @jesskpicone, Welcome to Connect. I mostly use the MyDreamMapper program that comes with my Dreamstation CPAP machine. If you have a similar program and can display the daily hourly usage on your computer you could take a screen shot and print it out or paste it in a Word document. I think they are just looking for compliance that your husband is using it at least 4 hours a day so a screen should satisfy their requirements.

Also, I think you can export the data but I'm not sure of the format. It will probably be comma separated which you could put in a spreadsheet that shows the hours used on a daily basis. Here's a good YouTube video on how to use SleepHead: https://youtu.be/FMkBatUVu7s
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