ResMed Airmini Autoset Travel CPAP Review

Our ResMed AirMini™ Review revealed that ResMed has listened to travelers using CPAP, and responded!  One of the biggest complaints among CPAP users is the size of their unit. Not only do larger standard units make traveling more difficult, but the alternative of vacation or business travel without their CPAP could be a health risk. Traveling with sleep apnea just got a lot easier! ResMed, a leader in CPAP therapy equipment, has introduced an exceptional new travel CPAP machine, the ResMed AirMini.

About the size and weight of a smartphone, the AirMini was designed for travel with a single focus. Weighing a mere 0.66 ounces (300 grams), portability will never be an issue. The AirMini’s footprint is so small, a traveler will not even notice the little room it takes up. The 5.4 x 3.3 x 2.0-inch AirMini is a traveler’s dream.

ResMed AirMini™

ResMed AirMini Travel CPAP Preferred over the Transcend and Z1 - Why?

The travel CPAP market is a relatively new phenomenon and has previously been dominated by the Z1 Auto CPAP  manufactured by HDM, and the Transcend Auto Mini CPAP manufactured by Somnetics. The two largest CPAP machine manufacturers, Philips Respironics and ResMed have learned from their mistakes and have aggressively moved into the niche with strong product offerings. During our ResMed AirMini review, we found that the machine is the culmination of many months of research and analysis to determine what a CPAP user wants in a travel unit. That seems to have paid off in that in an independent, 3-night study of CPAP patients residing in the US, more than 80% of the participants preferred using the ResMed AirMini, over the HDM Z1 Auto®, and Transcend Auto™ Mini CPAP.

Features of the ResMed AirMini™ Travel CPAP

Following the euphemism “great things come in small packages” the AirMini™ employs the same auto-adjusting pressure to suit your changing therapy needs as the highly popular ResMed AirSense™ 10 CPAP and offers many of the same popular features including AutoRamp™, Expiratory Pressure Relief (EPR), SmartStart™ and BlueTooth™.

AutoRampTM

AutoRamp™ uses sleep onset detection to improve therapy comfort by starting with a lower pressure to help you fall asleep easily. The AutoRamp then detects that you are asleep and gradually increases the pressure over the next 30 minutes in increments of 5 to the prescribed level. EPR is a comfort feature and maintains the lowest possible pressure to prevent apneas during inhalation and reduces pressure during exhalation. With EPR enabled, reducing the pressure during exhale makes therapy a much more natural and comfortable experience, Bluetooth™ enables the AirMini to connect to the AirMini app.

While it isn’t necessary to operate the AirMini™, the AirMini™ app provides convenient control of your machine. Download it to your smart device for access to a range of adjustable comfort settings and your nightly score that tells you how well you slept. SmartStart™ is a feature that lets you begin CPAP therapy just by breathing in, instead of pressing a button.

ActiveAir™

Another important feature is that in sleep therapy the sound level of the CPAP is critical for therapy comfort. The AirMini addresses this with ActiveAir™ which caps the airflow while still increasing air pressure. This is the technology that allows the AirMini™ to be extremely small and whisper-quiet at 30 decibels without compromising on therapy even during air pressure changes.

HumidX

Finally, the AirMini bundle adds a level of humidification which is convenient and portable. The HumidX is a small disposable waterless humidifier about a diameter of a quarter. Designed to improve moisture levels without a fully integrated humidifier, circular bands of material are embedded in a pod that sits in the mask tubing. The HumidX can be used with the N20 setup kit and the AirFit P10 Pillow Mask for AirMini only. The HumidX must be replaced within 30 days of opening the pack.

See a video of our ResMed AirMini™ Review

AirMini App Allows for Easy Monitoring of Sleep Data

The free app called the AirMini™ allows the user to control the AirMini’s comfort settings from a smartphone via Bluetooth. It will display a 30-day history of nightly AHI statistics and sleep scores so that you can easily keep eye on progress. The AirMini™ connects but does not sync with the ResMed AirView platform, so if you have the AirSense10 you can connect your data from the AirMini™ to it, but the data will not be continuous.

To begin, it is quite easy. All AirMini users must do is download or update the latest “AirMini by ResMed 1.2” app. Next, opt-in to upload data to the cloud. The same therapy reports ResMed created for the AirSense 10 devices, will then be available. Additionally, the AirMini can be registered through AirView, Brightree, or U-Sleep patient management platforms for remote monitoring.

With AirView, CPAP users can monitor their personal nightly data to help with compliance. It can also assist in spotting issues that may increase therapy success. Monitoring sleep data is more than 87 percent effective in promoting CPAP compliance.

The AirMini is the smallest CPAP machine available with primary use for travel. It meets FAA airport requirements for CPAP travel so you can sleep with it on a plane. An AirMini battery pack should be available early in 2018 to allow for off-grid use.

The machine meets FAA airport requirements for CPAP travel so you can sleep with it on a plane.

 Important Note from our ResMed AirMini™ Review

The AirMini™ works ONLY with 3 ResMed Masks at this time.

One twist with the ResMed AirMini™ Review is that you must use one of three ResMed masks. At its launch, the AirMini™ travel CPAP machine only works with the following CPAP masks:

• ResMed F20 full face CPAP mask(both for him and her)
• ResMed N20 nasal CPAP masks (both for him and her)
• ResMed AirFit™ P10 nasal pillows CPAP mask, which ResMed created specifically for nasal pillow mask lovers who want to try the AirMini™.

The masks connect to the machine through the AirMini™ setup pack. There are three versions to match each type of compatible mask. The setup packs come with HumidX waterless humidifier as well as tubing and a mask connector.

The mask connectors contain disposable waterless humidification designed specifically for either normal or dry environments. This humidification system uses the moisture in the patient’s exhaled breath to pass the pressurized air over. This is to increase the amount of humidity for inhalation. Replace the filters on these humidifiers within 30 days of opening.

Travel Accessories Available for ResMed AirMini™ AutoSet Travel CPAP 

To round out the travel accessories available with the AirMini, ResMed offers:

• DC converter that allows the CPAP machine to run off DC power source,
• A travel bag that is specifically designed to hold not only the machine but the mask and all accessories.
• The bag has a removable shoulder and suitcase strap.
• The small, protective hard case that holds only the AirMiniTM CPAP machine
• Mount system with pads that attach to different surfaces and a wall plate and angle bracket to secure the machine in place while it is being used
• 20W AC adapter (US version and EU version) for the power supply
  

  Comparing Resmed Airmini™ Autoset Travel CPAP to the Philips Respironics DreamStation Go Travel CPAP

  The AirMini™ travel CPAP machine is preferable to previous products. However, there has been no study done comparing the AirMini equally new Philips DreamStation Go Auto Travel CPAP machine. To that end, we’ve created a side-by-side comparison video of the DreamStation Go and AirMini here at The CPAP shop to help you identify the defining differences between the two devices. 

Mask Compatibility

One of the major differences between the two is that the DreamStation Go will work with your current or any new mask. The AirMini™ works only with 3 ResMed masks. The DSG is available in both an Auto and Standard CPAP while the AirMini™ is only available as an Auto. Although the DreamStation Go is slightly larger since it incorporates the power supply into the machine, The AirMini™ uses a unique, very small power block located at the socket.

 Extra Electronic Features

The DreamStation Go has a USB port to power a cell phone, an LCD touchscreen, and a fully integrated battery. The DSG also offers a special, very thin, and packable 12mm tube that also makes sleep movement easier.

Application Support (DreamMapper and AirMini App)

Another interesting feature with the DreamStation platform is that if you currently own a standard DreamStation and view data using the DreamMapper App, DreamStation Go will sync up and keep your data continuous so there will be no gaps while traveling. Like AutoRamp™ and EPR, the DreamStation GO also adjusts the pressure on a breath-by-breath basis using its own patented Flex™ technology. Both machines are equally quiet.

 Screen and Control Features

The AirMini™ went a different path and eliminated any screen and uses a single button to operate it (although SmartStart™ turns on as soon as a breath is taken). Instead, controlling some features through a smartphone will appeal to many tech-savvy users.

Summarizing the ResMed AirMini™ Review

With 35 years as the CPAP market leader, ResMed has certainly made a big splash in the travel CPAP machine market niche with the AirMini™. In the next few weeks, we hope to encourage real CPAP users to weigh in with reviews of the machine. We will post them on our product page. As we learn more about the machine’s capabilities from user feedback we will add to this post as well. If you have bought the AirMini™ we’d love to hear from you! Please comment on our ResMed AirMini™ Review