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Sunset ventilator circuits

Sunset Healthcare Solutions is making treatment more accessible to more patients with a new selection of ventilator circuits. Introducing the great value non-heated circuits for Respironics Trilogy and heated circuit for Fisher & Paykel MR850. Non-heated circuits come in adult and pediatric sizes, and active and passive configurations. See Sunset’s complete line of ventilator circuits HERE.  Contact us for more information at 877-578-6738.
CategoriesUncategorized

Portable CPAP batteries with the most perks

Let CPAP treatment go hand-in-hand with more fun and adventure!

Enjoy more travel, more entertainment and a healthy CPAP regimen with the newest selection of lightweight and portable CPAP batteries. We’ve chosen some of the best options for in-flight use, travel to remote destinations, or just more portable power to brighten up your surroundings.

Portable Outlet 2: a solid choice for travel and more

The Portable Outlet 2 powers every brand and model of CPAP & BiPAP machine without additional adapters (if used in the U.S.). It’s a straightforward option that runs your CPAP device for 10-14 hours in between charging.

With approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), it’s also cleared for use on airplanes.

The Portable Outlet 2 features an extra USB port so you can simultaneously run your laptop or other electronics while powering your CPAP. Whether you’re in the wilderness or just an unfamiliar room away from home, its digital display and LED power indication meter are easy to navigate and read in the dark.

Choose from several custom add-ons to suit your travel needs. An optional 12-volt inverter charges in your car during a road trip, while the Solar Charger Panel is ideal for more remote travel.

If you’re looking for longer run times, simply link up two Portable Outlet devices for double the battery life!

Zopec: a variety of options and features

Zopec offers several portable batteries, all with connectivity perks. Each model offers slightly different features and run times.

Like Portable Outlet 2, Zopec batteries work with every brand and model of CPAP machines, without additional adapters if used in the U.S.

If you’ll be using CPAP on an airplane, opt for the Zopec Explore 5700. Just like the Portable Outlet 2, the Zopec Explore 5700 is FAA approved. It offers a run time of up to three nights. It also features two USB ports, allowing you to run two devices at once in addition to your CPAP machine.

For maximum charging and longer run times, select the Zopec Explore 8200. Though it’s not FAA approved for use on flights, it is a great option for camping and remote travel, with a run time of up to four nights. The 8200 features two USB ports as well.

Zopec Explore batteries can even run a 55” television.

For the most in connectivity, Zopec Voyage definitely delivers with its Lighting Speed USB-C smart hub. The Zopec Voyage has the capacity to power devices like state-of-the-art TVs, stereos, laptops, video game consoles, and video projectors. It also charges three to four times faster than standard chargers. This multiuse battery is FAA compliant for air travel and has a run time of up to two nights.

Zopec batteries offer an optional solar panel and car charger to replenish battery power when you’re off the grid. Patients can even link up an unlimited number of batteries together for longer use.

Ask your favorite DME for more information

Let one of these portable CPAP batteries make life easier and brighter! Contact your local DME and ask for more information on Portable Outlet 2 and Zopec batteries.

CategoriesCompany Culture,  Health,  Uncategorized

Sunset’s Tips for Workday Fitness

Staying healthy is an important part of the culture at Sunset, and the team regularly joins in on runs, triathlons, golfing trips and hikes. In addition to outside activities, almost everyone takes the opportunity to incorporate a short fitness routine during the workday.

Here are some of Sunset’s tips for a full and active day at the office, and beyond!

Enjoy your commute

Thinking of creative ways to start your day can set the tone for your entire morning.

Sunset’s Graphic Designer Patrick bikes eight miles to and from work nearly every day (in all seasons), and Vice President of Sales PJ and Maggie, Sunset’s Business Analyst, also cycle into work on occasion.

Patrick cycling to work

“I get a cardio workout while commuting, so it saves time,” explains Patrick. “There’s also something about almost always actively moving instead of getting stuck in your car, the subway, or bus that makes it anti-stressful.”

“Some people are intimidated to ride in the city,” he adds, “but I say just try it and in five minutes you’ll see why it’s not scary.”

Take a stand

Once you’re at work, try to find a way to keep the momentum going!

Lead Sales Representative Phil occasionally takes the stairs to Sunset’s 20th floor office instead of the elevators. “It generally only takes around seven to eight minutes, and it gets the heart rate going,” he says.

Standing desks are another great way to stretch out. A recent study showed that they increase concentration and job performance—among other health and wellness benefits.

“I have one and I love it,” says Mike, National Accounts Manager. “I try to stand from 10 a.m. to lunch, and from lunch to 3 or 4 p.m. I feel more energized and less lethargic than just sitting around all day, especially after lunch.”

Get out to lunch

“There are so many studies that depict how workday exercise contributes to attentiveness from employees in the afternoon,” says Christine, Lead Sales Representative at Sunset.

“It’s a good way to get moving and it splits up my day,” adds Emily, Lead Sales Representative. “Since we have a full hour, I can get a solid workout in.”

If you don’t have access to a gym, try packing a brown bag lunch and trekking to an out-of-the-way destination spot for a picnic. Bring a jumprope or small weights for a quick workout.

Make a midday break

Taking a moment to introduce a midday break is a great way to stay grounded. Sunset team members often hold a 3 p.m. mini workout in the building.

“It can be anything from pushups, sit-ups, stretching, to even just closing your eyes and meditating,” says Maggie.

“It’s just a nice little break during the day to stretch out and get a small exercise in,” adds Emily.

The sales team has also been known to participate in group jumping jacks to celebrate office milestones, lunch hour squash tournaments, and spontaneous push-up contests.

Getting up for a drink of water or a face-to-face hello at a nearby office is another way to stay limber and engage with your coworkers during the day.

Take it outside

Outdoors and afterwork fitness activities are a hallmark of Sunset’s culture—and a great way to collaborate outside the office.

Sunset’s 2018 Field Day

“It’s a huge part of building a culture that promotes health, teamwork and friendship,” says PJ. “Not only is it a great way for coworkers to bond, but it also communicates that the company understands a part of being successful is being happy. We want to promote that in whatever way we can while staying productive.”

Nikki takes a swing

Consider inviting customers or clients to join in to make meetings even more productive!

National Accounts Manager Nikki, who has organized numerous afterwork activities, participated in hikes in California’s Runyon Canyon Park and a walk in Muir Woods.

PJ and Brenton, Sunset’s Director of Business Development, recall climbing a 14,000-foot mountain in Colorado with a customer.

Exercise balance

Maintaining fitness may seem like a full-time commitment, but in many cases, it’s okay to allow for flexibility. Sunset team members have been known to engage in the occasional eating competition and dessert cook-off, as well as Friday happy hours.

Think of it as a way to get even more out of your day!

Spotlight On:

Tonya, Lead Software Developer

Sunset is happy to feature fitness inspiration and Lead Software Developer Tonya, who will compete in her fifth powerlifting competition on April 27, 2019.

Tonya took an interest in fitness routines in 2011, when her mom encountered health issues.

“She said things that got me thinking about taking better care of myself,” says Tonya. “In the summer of 2017, a friend invited me to come watch a powerlifting meet they were competing in. I was hooked. I kept watching the event and thinking ‘I can do this.’ It’s the first sport that ever really resonated with me.” She competed in her first powerlifting event later that year.

Tonya is a part of Sunset’s Bloomingdale team, and she exercises once a week on lunch break. She continues her workout routine at the gym three or four days a week.

“My meet prep consists of working with heavier and heavier weights on the three lift types in powerlifting (squat, bench press, and deadlift),” says Tonya. “My off season training is more about conditioning and building endurance and strength for moving forward.”

Most recently, Tonya took first place at a powerlifting meet in January.

On April 27, Tonya will compete in a 2XL powerlifting event at 20 Yorktown Convenience Center in Lombard. The event will run from 5:00—8:00 p.m. and Tonya’s powerlift goal is 160 pounds.

Please feel free to support Tonya in her efforts by donating to Pressing the Pieces Together: Bench Press Benefit for Autism.

CategoriesBusiness,  Company Culture,  Health,  Reading Lists,  Science and Culture,  Sleep,  Uncategorized

Sunset’s Winter Reading

Brrr . . . winter weather is here!

Here are just a few of the intriguing books Sunset Healthcare Solutions staff members have lined up to read during the coldest time of the year. Please let us know if you decide to read along!

 

Why We Sleep, Matthew Walker


“A thoughtful tour through the still dimly understood state of being asleep … Why We Sleep is a book on a mission. Walker is in love with sleep and wants us to fall in love with sleep, too. And it is urgent. He makes the argument, persuasively, that we are in the midst of a ‘silent sleep loss epidemic’ that poses ‘the greatest public health challenge we face in the 21st century’ … Why We Sleep mounts a persuasive, exuberant case for addressing our societal sleep deficit and for the virtues of sleep itself. It is recommended for night-table reading in the most pragmatic sense.”
New York Times Book Review

Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance, Alex Hutchinson


“Want to achieve more? Often that means you have to do more — and Alex will show you how.”
—Inc. (”6 Great Business Books to Read in 2018”)

Silence, Erling Kagge

“The book expands the concepts of silence and noise beyond their aural definitions and engages with modern culture’s information overload, need for constant connection, and cult of busyness….Great pleasure lies in Kagge’s creative investigations. The reader leaves more mindful of the swirl of distraction present in everyday life.”
—Publishers Weekly

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Daniel H. Pink

“Daniel H. Pink’s deeply researched but never boring study could be a turning point. College students and business managers alike may find new ways to organize their schedules and ease difficult decisions by using the ‘hidden pattern’ of time to their advantage.”
—Wall Street Journal

Can’t Hurt Me, David Goggins

“Guaranteed to galvanize more than a few couch potatoes into action.”
— Kirkus Reviews

Sleep: The Myth of 8 Hours, the Power of Naps, and the New Plan to Recharge Your Body and Mind, Nick Littlehales

“Nick Littlehales has reconfigured the bedrooms of a legion of international sporting stars . . . He has a unique and encyclopedic knowledge.”
Guardian

The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying, Nina Riggs

“Moving and insightful…Riggs writes with humor; the memoir is rife with witty one-liners and musings on the joys and challenges of mothering and observations on the importance of loving relationships…In this tender memoir Riggs displays a keen awareness of and reverence for all the moments of life—both the light, and the dark, ‘the cruel, and the beautiful.’”
Publishers Weekly (starred review)

CategoriesScience and Culture,  Uncategorized

Out of the Mist: What’s Inside the Mesh Nebulizer?

The nebulizer is an essential and evolving method for treating COPD, asthma, and respiratory symptoms with aeresolized medication.

At Sunset, we hold this personal aide in high regard. We proudly manufacture our own Compressor Nebulizer and Handheld Compressor Nebulizer, and we’ve recently incorporated the Flyp Portable Nebulizer—a truly sophisticated device!

We’re fascinated by the nebulizer’s international roots, from German steam inhalers to hand bulb nebulizers, vaporizers and atomizers.

In the 1960s, when engineers experimented with heat and ultrasonic technology, they produced sleeker, more portable devices—incorporating frequency and pressure to produce finer medication particles and faster treatment.

The Pulverisateur, 1858 (Photo courtesy of Mark Sanders & AARC Virtual Museum)

Vibrating Mesh Technology (VMT), which emerged in the 1990s, still stands as a breakthrough discovery for the industry. VMT aeresolizes medication through a tiny, vibrating disk with over a thousand laser-drilled holes. Presently, VMT fuels a family of devices celebrated for their ultra rapid treatment time, low noise and petite size: the mesh nebulizers.

But, how can these portable, often handheld devices produce such power? Or, why aren’t we still using the portable, bicycle pump-styled nebulizer known in 1800s France as “the Pulverisateur”?

The answer is piezoelectricity —which is a mysterious-sounding word we should investigate.

Piezo·electricity

Did you know that the word “electricity” pulls from the classic Greek word elektron, which translates to “amber”—as in, the gem?

Though we often use it as an ornament, amber is actually fossilized tree resin that was an ancient curiosity due to its mysterious attributes.

Amber (Josh Blaine)

According to popular lore, Greek scientists noticed that the sun-toned stone attracted bits of fiber—and attempts to remove the material by rubbing it merely intensified the magnetic effect.

Though the first study on piezoelectricity emerged in France in 1880 (just after the Pulverisateur), this amber exercise is still used in grade school science lessons to demonstrate the phenomenon of electrostatic charge.

The Greek tale—specifically, their futile attempts to rub the fabric off—produced the prefix piezo, which is Greek for “to press,” or squeeze.

So, “piezoelectricity” simply refers to the electrical charge that accumulates in certain solids (like amber) when they are pressed, or undergo changes in pressure.

However! Further research tells us that not just any solid will work.

Topaz and tourmaline are piezoelectric—but glass is not. Piezoelectric material is almost always a crystal or ceramic solid, as both tend to have symmetrical atomic structures that can convert one type of energy to another (…more on this later). Of the crystals, quartz is the most commonly used piezoelectric material.

How does it work?

If you were to physically squeeze a piece of quartz, an invisible electrical charge would flow through it.

What’s happening, is that the pressure is changing the arrangement of its symmetrical atomic structure. Some of the atoms are drawing closer to each other and others further apart. This effect causes the crystal to “polarize,” sending positive charge to one side of the material and negative charge to the other, like a magnet. Or a tiny battery.

With the same concept, when engineers pass voltage through the quartz, the atoms squeeze themselves, vibrating back and forth and creating a charge. It’s this second feature that makes small devices run.

Quartz watches and clocks operate by this principle of piezoelectricity. Electrodes connect to an internal quartz crystal, charging it with a signal. When the quartz polarizes, it produces a reliable time-keeping frequency!

A contact microphone (Patrick Lauke)

The contact microphone is another great example of piezo power. This tiny device contains a piezo assembly—either ceramic or a very thin layer of crystals, mounted on a disk—that can convert sound wave vibrations into amplified sound.

Acoustic musicians often mount these microphones directly onto their instruments, plugging the attached cable into an amplifier or recording unit. When the instrument emits sound wave vibration, the piezo disk converts this to audible sound—and boosts quieter instruments like violin… or ukelele!

Mesh nebulizers

Unlike jet, or compressor, nebulizers and most ultrasonic models, the mesh nebulizer almost always utilizes a piezoelectric assembly. This setup is ideal for these sleek, pared down handhelds, with their small but extremely mighty vibrating internal disks.

Flyp’s internal disk

At Convexity Scientific, Chief Commercial Officer Geoff Matous explains that the pocket-sized Flyp Portable Nebulizer uses piezoelectric technology to fuel its powerhouse mesh disk, which vibrates almost silently at the speed of 111,000 times per second!

“The piezoelectric assembly is a ceramic ring plus stainless steel mesh that sits directly in contact with the medication in the reservoir,” explains Matous.

Since Flyp’s piezo disk is right up against the solution, Matous explains, it is technically categorized as an “active” mesh nebulizer. Passive mesh nebulizers generally have a disk and a separate piezo element or horn, which generates frequencies to push the fluid up through the disk.

When Flyp’s piezo disk becomes polarized by the surrounding signal of voltage, frequency and wave form, it vibrates and moves medication organically through its holes, producing micro droplets and a consistent, inhalable mist.

One clinical application difference to note between active and passive mesh nebulizers is that delivery performance with suspensionmedication—Budesonide, for example—is commonly more reliable with active mesh. Presumably, the internal layout also contributes to the active mesh nebulizer’s compact size.

De-mist-ified

Flyp Portable Nebulizer

So, the next time you pick up your mesh nebulizer, think of the unique and fascinating technology that’s fueling it.

In addition to helping you maintain optimal health, it might lead to an interesting conversation!

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Sunset Healthcare Solutions
180 N Michigan Ave Ste 2000
Chicago, IL 60601

Phone: 877-578-6738
Fax: 312-997-9985

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