Hospitals are scary places at the best of times and when you see all the complicated equipment it is easy to let your imagination run riot. It can be even worse to see this equipment in a home where a loved one is seriously ill or prone to certain attacks. This is why it is important to try and keep the equipment as unobtrusive as possible such as the fingertip pulse oximeter.

What is pulse oximetry?

Pulse oximetry is a procedure used to measure the oxygen level (or oxygen saturation) in the blood. It is considered to be a non-invasive, painless, general indicator of oxygen delivery to the peripheral tissues (such as the finger, earlobe, or nose).

With each pulsation or heartbeat there is a slight increase in the volume of blood flowing through the arteries. Because of the increase of blood volume, albeit small, there is an associated increase in oxygen-rich haemoglobin. This represents the maximum amount of oxygen-rich haemoglobin pulsating through the blood vessels.

A clip-like device called a probe is placed on a body part, such as a finger or ear lobe, to measure the blood that is still carrying or is saturated with oxygen. The probe houses a light source, a light detector, and a microprocessor, which compares and calculates the differences in the oxygen-rich versus oxygen-poor haemoglobin. One side of the probe has a light source with two different types of light, infrared and red, which are transmitted through the finger to the light detector side of the probe.

The oxygen-rich haemoglobin absorbs more of the infrared light and the haemoglobin without oxygen absorbs more of the red light. The microprocessor calculates the differences and converts the information to a digital readout. This information helps the doctor assess the amount of oxygen being carried in the blood and evaluate the need for supplemental oxygen.

Pulse oximeters are devices that are used to indirectly measure the amount of oxygen in the blood by measuring a quantity known as oxygen saturation, or SpO2. SpO2 is a measurement of the percentage of haemoglobin molecules that are bound to oxygen. Haemoglobin, the primary oxygen-carrying protein in the blood, changes colour when it is bound to oxygen. By using sensors that detect the colour changes in the blood due to movement of oxygen-bound haemoglobin, pulse oximeters can determine the amount of oxygen in the blood, which is useful for measuring a patient's respiratory function.

Other related procedures that may be used to assess problems of the lungs and respiratory system include bronchoscopy, computed tomography (CT scan) of the chest, chest fluoroscopy, chest X-ray, chest ultrasound, lung biopsy and lung scan, There are various types of fingertip pulse oximeter on the market such as the fingertip pulse oximeter CMS5OE, the fingertip pulse oximeter CMS5OH Data store, and the fingertip pulse oximeter CMS5OH PC software. The piece of equipment which you opt for will depend on a number of factors and as long as you maintain your product with care you should get fast and accurate results.