Customer Reviews

PiKo-1 Electronic Peak Flow Meter and FEV1 Meter

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This little peak flow meter is very nice. I used it for my son, who had a tendency to try and trick the meters. This meter told me if he was trying to cough into the unit or fool it in some other way. It's small and compact and stores 99 previous readings. I program it to tell me when he is in the yellow or red zone so I can hear it beep when he blows.

The biggest drawback, and the only reason I am not giving a 5 star rating, is the Pikonet software and USB device fails to function properly to download my son's readings. That was one of the reasons I bought this unit, to better track his progress.

PROS:

+ I can get more accurate readings because my son is not able to fool the unit by coughing into it or tonguing it.
+ It stores 99 previous readings.
+ It beeps when the patient is in the yellow or red zone.
+ It is small and compact.

CONS:

- The Pikonet software and USB device do not work to download my son's Piko readings.

SUMMARY

This is an excellent unit as a standalone peak flow meter. Just don't expect the computer connectivity that is advertised.

I am very pleased with my Piko-1 meter. It scores my results accurately as I checked it at the respiratory unit at the Hospital.

The device appears to be highly reliable but the measurement is not calibrated properly and is invalid. I happen to know my PEF from two sources - another peak flow meter and a professional measurement provided by my allergist. They are similar and the difference between those values and what PIKO-1 provides is in the range of 50 liters/minute. This makes the devide entirely useless to me.

I bought this as a replacement (they are sturdy little meters, but don't step on them if you drop it)
This is very easily used and read and remembers the previous high reading which is handy if I forgot to record it. It is easily programmed and there was only a small difference in "read" this one being a little higher than the original
The only reason it did not get five stars was that the original one I bought came with an extra set of batteries, also I was a little disappointed that after having paid for expedited shipping, it didn't actually ship until several days after it should have arrived. The company was quite nice about refunding the extra shipping

My doctor suggested this specific item to manage my breathing. The cost was substantially less on Amazon vs the pharmacy. The product is dependable and accurate.

My daughter received a Piko unit a part of a scientific study on asthma she participated in. The unit is easy to use. You simply take a big breath and blow. You can program it with your various zone numbers. It keeps the last 96 flows recorded. It gives not only peak flow, but also the Flow expository volume, or how much air is being pushed out at the beginning. There is some evidence suggesting that FEV may actually give abetter indication of a decline in lung function, and therefore a possible impending asthma attack.
I am not aware of any non-digital device that is available for measuring FEV.
The PiKo came with its own little case. The digital reading was more specific than the readings taken off of a mechanical style flow meter. Fro example, 362 tells you more than an approximated 350. I really appreciated the extra level of precision with this meter.
The coolness factor of this little gadget may make it a little easier for a child who is reluctant to manage a chronic disorder to regularly check their numbers. Since it keeps previous flows, it is also possible to look back and see what the numbers were if a child did their flow and forgot to write it down.
The readings from the PiKo unit matched those from my daughters other flow meters, only the PiKo ones were much more specific. From this, I believe that the readings given by the PiKo were accurate.
It will also give an error reading if the breath into it was a cough or in some other way not a good sample. This is nice if you have a child who likes to try to fool the meters, or isn't sure if they should record that cough or gasp into their meter. Knowing if a sample is good enough to include is sometimes a difficult call to make, especially if you are having an exacerbation. An error reading lets you know you shouldn't include it.
Apparently there is some additional software and a cable to download and graph the flows. I did not purchase or use these extra items, but I like the idea that they are available.

My wife has asthma, and uses this when she has a problem with her asthma. She liked it, but in trying to replaces the batteries, the case cracked. She doesn't have huge strong hands, but she managed to destroy it just in changing the batteries. I tried super glue, so we will see how it goes, but I'm not happy with the less-than-stellar longevity.

It's compact and electronic, so it's easy to carry in a purse or a suitcase. I'm just not happy having to spend a fair amount of money to replace a device only a couple of years old. I expected more out of this product.

This oximeter eats batteries. I can't even go 24 hours without changing batteries. If I take them out after everu use, and then reinstall them, I can get about 3 days from a set of batteries. The batteries care going to cost more than the meter in another week. Don't buy this one.