What is Pulse Oximeter and How it Works | How to Read Pulse Oximeter

Pulse oximetry is a non-invasive method for monitoring oxygen saturation in a person’s body. Do you know how a pulse oximeter works?

Peripheral oxygen saturation also known as SpO₂ readings have an accuracy level of 2% and within 4% accuracy in the worst 5% of cases of the more desirable and invasive which is the reading of arterial oxygen saturation (SaO₂) from arterial blood gas analysis. But the two are correlated well enough.

Hence it is a safe, convenient, non-invasive, inexpensive pulse oximetry method that is valuable for measuring oxygen saturation in clinical use. But in all the most common approach is transmissive pulse oximetry.

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Do you know how a pulse oximeter works? The sensor device of the Pulse oximeter is placed on a thin part of the patient’s body. Generally, it is placed on a fingertip or earlobe and in the case of an infant; it is placed on the foot.

It is said that fingertips and earlobes have higher blood flow rates than other tissues, which facilitate heat transfer. The device is designed to pass two different wavelengths of light through the body part to a photodetector.

It measures the changing absorbance at each of the wavelengths which allows it to determine the absorbances due to the pulsing arterial blood alone, excluding venous blood, skin, bone, muscle, fat, and in most cases nail polish.

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What is Pulse Oximeter and How it Works

How pulse oximeter works. A blood-oxygen monitor displays the percentage of blood that is concentrated with oxygen. In other words, it measures what percentage of haemoglobin is loaded with oxygen.

Haemoglobin is a protein in blood that carries oxygen. The acceptable range of SaO2 for a patient without pulmonary pathology is from 95 to 99 per cent.

The approximate arterial pO2 of a person breathing room air at or near sea level can be made from the blood-oxygen monitor “saturation of peripheral oxygen” (SpO₂) reading.

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Types of pulse oximeter

Depending on the usage, there are various pulse oximeters. The first and most common is the fingertip pulse oximeter, which is used for domestic or less critical clinical usage.

The other type is the handheld oximeter, which is primarily used in hospitals or clinics. The other type is fetal oximeter, which is used in hospitals.

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Use of pulse oximeter

A pulse oximeter has medical importance. The oximeter is a medical device. It monitors the oxygen saturation in the blood of a patient in an indirect way instead of measuring oxygen saturation directly through a blood sample and changes in blood volume in the skin.

It produced a photoplethysmogram which can be further processed into other measurements. The pulse oximeter can be used to monitor various parameters of the same patient. Most monitors also display the pulse rate. Pulse oximeters are portable and battery-operated.

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It is also available for transport or home blood-oxygen monitoring. Pulse oximetry may be used to check the oxygen level in the blood. In many kinds of situations, such information is required. It can be used:

• Pre and post-surgery in which sedation is used.
• To see how well lung medicines are improving the function.
• The ability of a person to handle increased activity level can be checked
• The requirement of the ventilator for breathing can be checked.
• Used to check for certain periods during the night when a person might stop breathing which is also known as sleep apnea.

It can also be used to monitor the health of a person with a condition that affects blood oxygen levels, such as heart attack, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), anaemia, lung cancer, asthma, pneumonia. Based on the recommendation of your physician, a pulse oximeter can be used for various purposes.

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Precautions of pulse oximeter

All procedures have some risk and so do pulse oximeters but do not have any direct risk. But still, some precautions are necessary. The risk of this procedure may be incorrect reading.

If the probe falls off the earlobe, toe, or finger or skin irritation from adhesive on the probe. So maybe you need to take care of the skin irritations. Depending on your health and other various factors, you may be at different risk levels.

You need to check with your healthcare provider which risks apply most to you. You can discuss your concerns with your physician for any concerns.

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Things To Consider Before Buying a pulse oximeter

If you are planning to buy a pulse oximeter, then the first thing you should consider is the price of the oximeter. You need to check the accuracy of the pulse oximeter, whether you are buying for home use or medical use. You need to also check the time taken to give back the readings.

Some oximeters can give back instant readings, while some would take almost 5 seconds to give back readings. Check for the busser or alarm option in the oximeter. You also need to check for the certification by various organizations for the product or the brand.

You should also check for feedback about the device in the market and other commercial sites. This will help you to decide if the product is worth your money. And understand completely how pulse oximeter works.

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The price value of a pulse oximeter

In the Covid situation, a pulse oximeter has become handy as you can easily monitor the oxygen level of the Covid patient. A variety of pulse oximeters are available on the market today.

In the market, many expensive as well as inexpensive pulse oximeters are found from professional-use oximeters to inexpensive “consumer” models available.

Generally, a pulse oximeter can vary from INR 800 to INR 57000 per piece while SPO2 can vary from INR 959 to INR 40000 per piece.

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Use of pulse oximeter in covid 19 diseases

Opinions vary about the reliability of consumer oximeters. The research data on home monitors have been mixed readings but they tend to be accurate within a few percentage points.

Some smartwatches with activity tracking also incorporate an oximeter function. An article on such devices said that these sensors are not precise, which is the main limitation.

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The available oximeter is for the consumer level but not for the clinical level. COVID-19 diagnosis pulse oximeters should be Class IIB medical-grade oximeters, which can be used on patients of all skin colours, low pigmentation and in the presence of motion. Blood oxygen levels need not be monitored for most people.

Oxygen level is checked regularly for people who have some health problems that cause low oxygen states. The less invasive pulse oximetry method is often equally useful as an invasive ABG.

Though it has its margin of error, a pulse ox reading is usually accurate enough. ABG test is conducted for a patient if a more precise measurement is required by the doctor.

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Pulse Oximeter: FAQ

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About Author

Adam Cooper

I am a freelance content writer based in New York, I write about Medical and Health related articles. I write about the World Health Organization, reporting on the government’s Health and Medical policies and the decisions.

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