How Overnight Pulse Oximeters Function

By Lela Perkins


Overnight pulse oximeters are medical devices used to noninvasively monitor oxygen saturation in the body of a patient. This equipment is used in a medical method called pulse oximetry. The equipment was invented by a German physician in the year 1935. Since that first invention, there have been many other physicians who have added components to the device with a bid to make it more effective.


Oximetry uses two tiny LEDs, light emitting diodes that face a photodiode on the other side through a translucent section of the body. Fingertips, earlobes, or feet in the cases of infants can be made use of. One of the diodes is red and has wavelength of around 660 nm. The other diode is usually infrared with 905, 910, or 940 nm of wavelength. The speed of absorption of the two wavelengths differs significantly between deoxygenated and its oxyhaemoglobin counterpart.

Due to the variations in the absorption of the red and infrared wavelengths, the oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin ratio can be calculated. At the wavelengths of 590 and 805 nm, the absorbance of deoxyhemoglobin and oxyhemoglobin is similar. Earlier equipment used these wavelengths to correct hemoglobin concentration.

The monitored signal changes over time with heart beats since arterial blood vessels constrict and expand with the heartbeat. By assessing the varying portion of the absorption spectrum alone, a monitor is capable of leaving out nail polishes or other tissues. By leaving out polish on fingernails and other tissues, monitors can capture absorption that is only caused by blood in arteries. It is therefore a vital requirement to identify a pulse in this practice, otherwise the exercise will fail.

The monitor that monitors the level of blood oxygen displays the percentage of hemoglobin in the arteries in oxyhemoglobin configuration. For patients who do not have COPD and hypoxic drive problem, the normal acceptance range lies between ninety five to ninety nine percent. Patients with hypoxic problem expect values between eighty eight to ninety four percent. Carbon monoxide poisoning is indicated by a value of one hundred percent.

Oximetry is different from the other methods of observing the amount of oxygen within the blood since it is an in-direct approach. The equipment may be integrated in multi-parameter patient monitoring machines. Most oximeters also indicate pulse rates of people under study. Overnight pulse oximeters are usually portable in order for them to be carried into residences for home-based medical care. They are tiny and run on batteries.

These devices may be used in a broad range of environments and applications. They can be utilized in hospital wards, urgent care facilities, emergency units, intensive care units, and unpressurized aircrafts among several others. They are utilized to assess the efficiency and need of supplemental oxygen to patients. The gadget however cannot determine rate of oxygen metabolism in the human body. For this reason, they should be used together with carbon-dioxide monitoring gadgets.

Overnight pulse oximeters are vital for patients in critical medical conditions. They alert health staff of abnormalities in levels of oxygen in patients. Improvements in technology have rendered it possible to control them remotely for purposes of convenience.




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