Posts Tagged ‘sleep study preparation’
Monday, June 28th, 2010
Sleep Tech Tip of the Week:
By Michael Miller, RPSGT
Most often we as sleep techs are the biggest offenders of not practicing what we preach. We tell our patients to allow for adequate sleep time, reduce caffeine intake close to bed time, practice proper sleep hygiene, and maintain consistency when it comes going to bed and waking up. We, or least I, have been guilty of not following one or all of those suggestions at some point during my career. We, as sleep professionals, have to apply what we know about sleep to our personal lives as well. (more…)
Tags: insomnia, REM sleep, sleep cycle, sleep deprivation, sleep disorder, sleep disorders, sleep medicine, sleep study, sleep study preparation, Sleepvirtual BWII PSG
Posted in Sleep Tech Corner | No Comments »
Friday, June 25th, 2010
By Angela Terry, RPSGT @ OBAND Medical Group Las Vegas
Life as an RPSGT sometimes means that I don’t always get enough sleep. Sometimes my body becomes sore and achy after working a long night shift and caring for my family. One thing that I can always count on though is that after a proper sleep cycle, I can wake up rested and pain free. This relief is thanks to the restorative process of chemical and hormonal releases/balances that naturally occur during deep sleep. (more…)
Tags: cpap, fibromyalgia, insomnia, muscle pain, REM sleep, sleep apnea, sleep cycle, sleep deprivation, sleep disorder, sleep disorders, sleep medicine, sleep study, sleep study preparation
Posted in Physician Corner, Sleep Tech Corner | 6 Comments »
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
Sleep Tech Tip of the Week
By Michael Miller, RPSGT
I recently received a request to write a tech tip about dealing with CPAP mask leaks and how huge air leaks affect the integrity of a titration. The short answer is that large air leaks compromise the accuracy of the CPAP titration. I am sure that if you have read any of my other entries you are wishing that I would end it with my short answer. (more…)
Tags: apnea, cpap, cpap acclimation, cpap desensitizing, cpap mask, PSG, sleep apnea, sleep study, sleep study preparation, Sleepvirtual, Sleepvirtual BWII PSG
Posted in Sleep Tech Corner | No Comments »
Monday, May 17th, 2010
Sleep Tech Tip of the Week
By Michael Miller, RPSGT
Artifact can be defined as an unwanted signal interfering with a channel on a PSG or EEG exam. One of the most prevalent and menacing artifacts most often observed is EKG artifact. EKG artifact is classified by an EKG waveform appearing in channels other than the actual EKG channel. EKG artifact is usually caused by a lead or electrode being place on a site where the patients pulse is evident. (more…)
Tags: EKG artifact, PSG, sleep disorder, sleep study, sleep study preparation
Posted in Sleep Tech Corner | 1 Comment »
Monday, April 26th, 2010
Sleep Tech Tip of the Week
By Michael Miller, RPSGT
After a recent conversation with a colleague, who is a technical support specialist, I felt that this week’s tech tip of the week should be focused on the topic of troubleshooting. I asked to him to give me a percentage value for the usual type of technical support calls that he receives. His response was surprising to me. He informed me that 10% of technical support phone calls that he receives were related to sensor failures, 10% were associated to computer problems, 10% were linked to legitimate system software issues, 10% were connected to actual hardware malfunctions, and 60% of the calls that he fields were correlated with user error. I asked him to elaborate on the user error calls that made up more than half of his of his work load. He further explained that a majority of these calls came from new users of the equipment which was to be expected during the acclimation period of a new system. (more…)
Tags: sleep study, sleep study preparation, test preparation, troubleshooting, troubleshooting medical equipment
Posted in Sleep Tech Corner | No Comments »
By Michael Miller, RPSGT
By Michael Miller, RPSGT