What is Pulse Oximeter?

A pulse oximeter is a medical device that indirectly measures the oxygen saturation of a patient's blood (as opposed to measuring oxygen saturation directly through a blood sample) and changes in blood volume in the skin, producing a photoplethysmograph. It is often attached to a medical monitor so staff can see a patient's oxygenation at all times.

A pulse oximeter is useful in any setting where a patient's oxygenation is unstable, including intensive care, operating, recovery, emergency and hospital ward settings, pilots in unpressurized aircraft, for assessment of any patient's oxygenation, and determining the effectiveness of or need for supplemental oxygen. Assessing a patient's need for oxygen is the most essential element to life; no human life thrives in the absence of oxygen (cellular or gross). Although a pulse oximeter is used to monitor oxygenation, it cannot determine the metabolism of oxygen, or the amount of oxygen being used by a patient.

However, the use of a pulse oximeter to detect hypoventilation is impaired with the use of supplemental oxygen, as it is only when patients breathe room air that abnormalities in respiratory function can be detected reliably with its use.

A higher level of methemoglobin will tend to cause a pulse oximeter to read closer to 85% regardless of the true level of oxygen saturation. It also should be noted that the inability of two-wavelength saturation level measurement devices to distinguish carboxyhemoglobin

Pulse oximeter is considered a safe procedure, but because of device limitations, false-negative results for hypoxemia and/or false-positive results for normoxemia or hyperoxemia may lead to inappropriate treatment of the patient. In addition, tissue injury may occur at the measuring site as a result of probe misuse (eg, pressure sores from prolonged application or electrical shock and burns from the substitution of incompatible probes be-tween instruments).

Why pulse oximetry?
The Patient Safety Pulse Oximetry project aims to improve the safety of operating rooms worldwide. The Surgical Safety Checklist has been shown to reduce complications and mortality by over 30 percent. The Checklist is simple and can be completed in under 2 minutes, however, there is one component that is not currently achievable in every operating room in the world: pulse oximetry. WHO Patient Safety has worked with the Harvard School of Public Health, the WFSA, the AAGBI and many other partners around the world to facilitate the development of pulse oximetry technical standards that led to the development of a high standard, low-cost pulse oximeter.

Pulse Oximeters & Accessories
Pulse Oximetry

We are the china productor of the Pulse Oximeter range. Pulse Oximeters measure patients’ oxygen saturations (SpO2) and pulse rate (bpm).

The Pulsox 1 is ideally suited to screening applications, the Pulsox 300 is ideal for 6 minute walk tests, whilst the Pulsox 300i with its memory function is more suited to those who have an interest in long term monitoring of patients.

Please be aware that the Minolta range of pulse oximeters are available for sale in UK, France and Germany only.