Puritan Bennett Sandman Family
Sandman Intro	Sandman Info
Fixed-Pressure		Automatic

An advanced yet reliable Automatic CPAP Machine

Covidien launched the unique its Puritan Bennett Sandman range of CPAP sleep apnoea therapy devices to build upon the popular GoodKnight seriese. The Sandman Auto is one of the most advanced continuous positive airway pressure machine to come from Covidien's (formerly Tyco Healthcare) experienced engineers.

One of the best features resulting from years of development and patient feedback is Adaptive Pressure Stability (APS). A fast micro-processor monitors the pressure every split second and tells the blower to adjust itself the moment it detects unwanted pressure fluctuation. This ensures you get the correct therapeutic pressure to avoid as many apnoea, hypopnoea and snoring events as possible.

Advanced Automated Pressure Adjustments

This innovative Adaptive Pressure Stability technology ensures the pressure remains sufficient whilst at the same time keeping it as low and comfortable as possible. For example, when the mask slightly dislodges, you change from your side to your back, a nasal blockage develops or your breathing pattern changes, the Sandman could compensate for these changes before you even notice it. This reduces the chance of CPAP therapy itself becoming a reason for arousal (waking up), ensuring the patient receives the most comfortable possible sleep possible.

With the help of the clinician or homecare provider, the Sandman Auto-CPAP's unique auto-calibration can be used to match whichever mask is being worn with the right pressure settings. Each mask can have a different impact on the pressure delivered at the throat. CPAPs without mask calibration may not deliver the pressure it thinks it's delivering because of different mask diffusers, exhalation ports etc. all providing different air resistance.

Different lengths and types of tubing can also affect the end of circuit pressure. The Sandman Auto-CPAP solves these issues with a unique way to automatically calibrate the blower with literally any mask. Note that this is an advanced feature that can only be accessed with the assistance of a clinician or with your homecare provider (ring Intus for assistance with this function).

Front Facing Screen

Up until now, almost all CPAP machines had a display on the top of the machine so that when lying down, you could not see what pressure it was operating at or whether any warnings were being reported. The Puritan Bennett Sandman Auto-CPAP and its fixed pressure equivalents Intro and Info all have front facing displays for easy reading. When pressing a button it will also light up for easy reading in the dark without having to sit up, but after a few seconds of inactivity will dim so as not to disturb you when not in use.

Travel Friendly Robust Design

With its built-in power supply you don't have to carry an external power brick with you and it automatically switches between 110 and 240 Volts so it will work wherever you go, as long as you bring the right wall socket travel adapter. The CPAP will also run from a 12V source such as our Super CPAP Battery Pack, without the need for a converter. All you need is the Sandman 12V Cable (purchased separately) to enable the unit to be powered by a 12V DC source. If you are travelling in the mountains, the machine's automatic altitude/barometric compensation feature ensures the right pressure gets delivered wherever you go.

Advanced Auto-Adjustment Settings

Where some Auto-CPAPs (APAPs) leave no room for personalisation of their algorithms which determine the pressure, the Sandman Auto offers a choice of standard and accelerated pressure drops after it rose to compensate for an event.

Traditionally, when an event was detected and the Auto-CPAP upped the pressure to remedy the event, as a precaution it would not lower the pressure for sometimes as long as 20 minutes and then only reduce the pressure in 0.1 hPa increments per a set number of minutes. Some patients experience this as too much pressure for too long.

The Sandman Auto-CPAP however, can be told to operate in "Default Mode" responding a lot faster when it detects the airway is stable again or in "Slow Mode". The default is the fast mode which uses 0.5 hPa increments every minute after an initial 5 minute precautionary period. The slow option adjusts by 0.2 hPa steps every minute after this 5 minute period. As opposed to APAPs with much slower 'back to normal' curves, the Sandman Auto-CPAP makes sure the patient gets the lowest, most comfortable pressure possible without compromise.

Fully Integrated Heated Humidification

You have a choice of humidified and unhumidified CPAP delivery. The Sandman range's heated humidifier integrates seamlessly, without extra cables or changing the footprint of the entire setup. The heated humidifier has to be added separately to the order, simply pick the Sandman Humidification Upgrade Kit displayed top right, at the bottom as well as in the machine specific humidifiers category.

Heated humidification has been proven time and time again to have a profound positive impact on upper airway health and comfort as well as CPAP compliance overall. If you wake up with a dry mouth, get regular sinus blockages or like to sleep with the window open on cold nights, the humidified option is probably the best choice for you. As the heated humidifier now can be added to this machine at any time, you can of course start off with the basic, unhumidified machine and buy the upgrade kit later if you do find you may benefit from humidification. You can read more about humidification and who it benefits in our Help & Advice section, or you can give us a ring if you are not sure what's best for you.

Easy Therapy Monitoring

The Sandman Auto CPAP ships with an easy to use data key card which you can send back to Intus or your sleep clinic for monitoring of your progress. The machine records apnoeas and hypopnoeas and is able to differentiate between central and obstructive events. Snoring and inspiratory flow limitations are recorded and reported on too, in fact, it reports leak detection on each respiratory event. The memory card holds approximately 50 8-hour sessions and the internal memory another 200. You can send us your data card for us to run a report for you whenever you wish as part of our free Data Reporting Service, so you can keep track of your progress and the effectiveness of your therapy.

Hypermodern - A Solid Therapy Partner For Years To Come

This innovative machine has all the features needed today and in the foreseeable future in order to get the best therapy possible for your obstructive sleep apnoea. If you want a machine that changes as your needs change and one that will stay current for years to come, the Sandman Auto-CPAP offers everything you could possibly want in an automatically adjusting CPAP.

Puritan Bennett Sandman Family
Sandman Intro	Sandman Info
Fixed-Pressure		Automatic