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 makes use of two small LEDs, light emitting diodes, which face a photodiode through a translucent part of the body. A fingertip, an earlobe, or a foot in case of an infant can be used. One of the LEDs is red and has a wavelength of about 660 nm. The other LED is normally infrared with a wavelength of either 905, 910, or 940 nm. The rate of absorption of the various wavelengths varies significantly between oxyhaemoglobin and its deoxygenated counterpart.

Due to the differences in the absorption rate of infrared and red wavelengths, oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin ratio could be calculated. At wavelengths of between 590 and 805 nm, absorbance of deoxyhemoglobin and oxyhemoglobin remains similar. Earlier devices used these range of wavelengths to rectify hemoglobin concentration.

The monitored signal varies over time with the heart beat since the arterial blood vessels contract and expand with every heartbeat. By analyzing the varying section of the absorption spectrum only, a monitor is able to leave out nail polish or other tissues. By ignoring polish on nails and other tissues, the monitor can discern only absorption that is caused by arterial blood. It is therefore an important requirement to detect a pulse in this exercise, otherwise the oximetry will not work.

The monitor that checks the level of oxygen in blood displays the content of hemoglobin in arteries in oxyhemoglobin configuration. For people who do not experience COPD and hypoxic drive problems, the normal acceptable range stands between ninety five to 99 percent. People with hypoxic problems expect values between 89 to ninety four percent. Carbon (II) oxide poisoning is shown by 100 percent of the reading.

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 can be used in a wide range of applications and environments. They are used in hospital wards, emergency units, urgent care facilities, unpressurized aircrafts, and intensive care units among many others. They are used to assess the need and efficiency of supplemental oxygen to people. The device however cannot determine the rate of metabolism of oxygen in the body. For this reason, it should be used with carbon dioxide monitoring devices complimentarily.

Overnight pulse oximeters are significant for people in critical medical state. They alert health workers of abnormalities in amounts of oxygen in sick people. Technological improvement has rendered it possible to remotely control them for purposes of efficiency and convenience.




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