Microlife PF 100 Peak Flow Meter for Spirometry with FEV1
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Product Reviews of Microlife PF 100 Peak Flow Meter for Spirometry with FEV1
Product Review: PF 100 great gadget. ...Poor software
Summary: 2 Stars
The PF-100 is a great gadget for checking a few values that can indicate general lung health -> Asthma. Its easy to use, inexpensive, light weight. For a stand alone device it works great as a spot check.
Software? Toss it. It looks like it should work great for managing the data recorded. But it locks up on WinXP and is pretty much worthless as you cant get the data from the device. Attempts to resolve this with Microlife were not productive as they stated " we have not heard of this problem". I Find it hard to believe. This is most likely due to support for Win98 as indicated. Who still uses this Win98? Its 2007.
Product Review: Peak flow meter
Summary: 5 Stars
The microlife spirometer and peak flow meter is the only one I have found on the market that not only measures the flow, but stores the results.
My husband is battling COPD which manifested itself as a residual to major surgery which required a lengthy period on a ventilator. He is progressing well now, and the peak flow meter is a great tool for measuring his progress.
Product Review: Really needs improvement
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this for my son to use to establish a baseline value for determining when he needed a breathing treatment for his asthma. The PF 100 will automatically set traffic light values showing when his peak flow is in the red, yellow, or green range. This is done using the highest value obtained and sets the limits at 80% (green/yellow boundary) and 60% (yellow/red boundary) of the highest value. The first week the PF 100 worked great and then started to randomly record a "Hi" value (>900 l/min) without even being blown into. Since this "Hi" value is used to set the traffic light values, the traffic light became useless for my son's use because there is no way a normal 8 year old can blow over 600 l/min. I had downloaded the analyzer program (free from microlife.com; microlifeusa.com says it needs to be purchased) and was able to manually set the correct traffic light values and by editing the data file (an .xml file) could manually delete the random "Hi" values. It is recommended that the user blow into the meter at least 3 times and the highest value of the 3 would be kept. But the meter also started to keep all 3 values so when the data was downloaded every "blow" was recorded rather than the highest for each set of multiple "blows." I e-mailed microlife and they said they believed the meter was defective and sent me a replacement meter. So far the meter has worked okay with only one "Hi" value being recorded, again happening without even being blown into.
The meter has significant drawbacks which I feel should be addressed by microlife.
1) The USA version of the meter only lets the user delete all values stored by the meter. This means if you get an errant "Hi" reading you cannot delete it and the traffic light values could be erroneously set to values too high for thr user to obtain. The non-USA versions of the meter allow the last data value to be deleted, so an errant "Hi" value could be deleted and not affec the traffic light values.
2) There should be NO issue with a "Hi" reading anyway. This seems to be a glitch in the meter. I watched one day as my son held the {original} meter near his chest and was getting ready to blow into it when the meter beeped and showed "Hi" without the meter even being moved or blown into.
3) The meter will store up to 240 data values before it starts deleting the earliest values. If each blow is recorded rather than just the highest from a set (all the blows between turning the meter on to turning it off) it may not take long before the 240 spots are used up, depending on how often the meter is used to check peak flows.
4) Without the software there is no way of manually setting the traffic light values. My son had one peak flow of 234 L/min which means the traffic light values would be 187 and 140 L/min. I felt these were too high for my son, who has only recorded 4 values over 200 L/min, but without the software would have had to accept what the meter was set for.
5) Even with new batteries the meter does not seem to maintain the time of day efficiently. The software will tell you when the meter is connected if there is a difference between the computer time and the meter. In one week the time on the meter was off by 3 minutes. Without the software and without the user frequently checking and adjusting the time on the meter, it could end up being off by hours before the batteries need replacement.
6) The meter will not accept any traffic light values other than 80% and 60% of the highest peak flow obtained, even if you try to set new values using the software. It will however allow you to input a different high value to adjust the traffic light values up or down. You can set the traffic light percentages with the software, but the meter will not accept anything other than 80%/60%.
7) Whenever you transfer data from the meter to the software it automatically deletes all the data in the meter. I feel this should be an option, not a given.
8) Not a meter issue: the software does not allow the user to manually delete any of the data values. I had to do so by editing the .xml data file, which a lot of people may not be able to do. The software is very basic but should at least allow data values to be deleted in case a user gets one or more errant "Hi" peak flows.
The digital display is nice and the traffic light indicator (given the traffic light values haven't been messed up by a "Hi" reading) is useful in determining if a treatment is needed even if the user feels fine. Both my ex-wife and I have my son take a treatment whenever his peak flows indicate in the yellow or red. Even with the meter's faults I still prefer this electronic digital meter over a mechanical analog meter.
Product Review: Reasonably reiable instruement
Summary: 4 Stars
I can't really judge the accuracy of this device since I do not have a reliable standard available to compare it to. But the readings seem reasonable and correlate well with my subjective feelings of congestion or free breathing. I have taken more than 100 readings and they make an interesting plot. The only reason for less than 5 stars is the occasionally there is flacky reading.Product Review: Replaced My Mechanical Meter
Summary: 5 Stars
This meter is really nice. It also has optional software and a USB cable available and / or a small printer available from the manufacturer. Amazon's price is competitive.
Without the software the machine takes your peak value from your trials and bases the zone system on this value.
With the software you can set a known peak flow reading (PEF). The meter automatically calculates whether subsequent readings are in the "green", "yellow" or "red" zone. Syncing the device with the software the first time was a bit tricky. You set a patient number for each unit which isstored internally. I eventually got it. Subsequent readings are automatic. Plug it in and it reads and plots both Peak and FEV1 values. The software would be especially convenient for a physician's office as it recognizes each unit and plots tracks the data for multiple devces. Plug a device in, the software recognises the owner and plots the data for them. You assign a patient number to each unit in the software and upload it to the unit. Next time you plug in the unit analysis and plotting is automatic. Easy.
FEV1 is an indicator of obstruction. As I understand it one should be able to expell the vast bulk of the air from one's lungs in one second (FEV1). If one were to know the total amount of air one could expel one would have a measure of vital capacity, VC. The ratio of FEV1 to VC, (FEV1/VC), is a primary indicator of obstruction. Values above 75%, as I understand it, are not so obstructive. Increasingly smaller values indicate increasing obstruction. In short, one can tell lots from this little brief case or purse sized meter.
For about $100 you can get print outs via the optional printer, or if you have your own computer, via the USB link and software. If you have lung trouble that requires monitoring you should get this or a similar device. It works great. If you fall into that category and are modestly computer literate you might well invest in the software too. A manual unit can cost upwards of $20. This is a better value.