What is Pulse Oximeter?

Health and Wellness » Respiratory Care in India » What is Pulse Oximeter

Before knowing what is pulse oximeter, let us look at its features and use because of which people are choosing this device. The process to measure the concentration of oxygen in blood is called oximetry. The test helps to evaluate different medical conditions affecting the heart and lungs functions.

What is Pulse Oximeter?

What is Pulse Oximeter?

It is a simple equipment to monitor the hemoglobin percentage stored in the oxygen. It is a non-invasive way consisting of probe which is attached to the patient's finger and is linked to the computerized unit. It displays Hb percentage saturated with oxygen and also has the features of audible signal for every pulse beat and some also have the features of calculating the rate of heart with the graphic display. Availability of audible alarms can be also performed by the users. Pulse oximeter also finds out the hypoxia before the patient is clinically cyanosed.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Pulse oximeter is simple to use with great speed and is extremely important in emergency medicine and for patients having any kind of cardiac or respiratory problems can use it. For patients with COPD, it can be extremely useful. It also helps to know any disorder related to sleep like apnea. It is beneficial for the pilots in non pressurized aircrafts above 10,000 feet where the oxygen supply is needed.

However, it is not necessary that pulse oximeter can give you complete measure of respiratory sufficiency. The people who suffer from hypoventilation is given 100% oxygen even though having a good level of oxygen in the blood compared to the person who suffer from respiratory acidosis due to excessive carbon dioxide.

If the blood flow is not sufficient or the patient is anemic, then the tissues can get hypoxia, despite good oxygen saturation in blood.

Tips on Buying Pulse Oximeter

You will find good quality pulse oximeter at different prices.

Make sure that you don't decide on purchasing the oximeter depending on the price or brand name. You should consider its features and its pros and cons. You will find many high qualities of pulse oximeter units for sale with lesser prices. One of them is fingertip pulse oximeter which you can get for less than 40 USD online.

Other oximeter types that you can consider vary from sophisticated models to simple fingertip model. However, it has been noticed that fingertip model is used widely at homes and hospitals.

Features of Pulse Oximeter

The basic purpose of this oximeter is to know the saturation of oxygen and pulse rate. It gives the measure with accurate results on which you can rely. Pulse oximeter uses mechanisms that are same to read the data, but differ in how they are made. They are safe to use and the price range varies as per your needs. You can get a good quality oximeter at low price too. Other features are:

Appearance

  • It also has the features of computer interface along with saving the readings to a computer for further analysis by you or your doctor.
  • It stores previous readings and timestamps and generates various statistics too.
  • Easy to store
  • It also has the features of multi-person memory and stores the readings for more than one person.
  • Software program helps to analyze the data
  • Accessories like storage case, log book, battery, etc. are available

Need of Pulse Oximeter

A pulse oximeter is more advantageous for the person who are of old age. Patients with heart disease problem or having oxygen deficiency can use this device. It has become one of the standard equipments available in hospitals. This is a non-invasive device that gives accurate results with continuous reading.

There are many conditions when the person needs to be under constant monitoring of oxygen saturation levels. Consulting with a specialist or doctor on the need of pulse oximeter can be beneficial for you. If you have one, you will constantly know about your condition whenever you want. This will help to lessen your expense for lab test. Buying one is definitely a good way to spend your money.

Before you buy one, make sure you understand what is pulse oximeter and whether it is FDA approved. This will definitely make you aware of the changes in your health that take place every day.