The Many Uses and Alternatives for a Pulse Oximeter

A pulse oximeter is a health check device exclusively designed to calculate the level of oxygen of the blood. It is a very effortless device and saves a lot of time in going to doctor to have this process done. The pulse oximeter mostly connects to one end of the finger and the hemoglobin saturation is calculated and evaluated for compliance to normal levels which are generally between 95 to 100% saturation. A Fingertip pulse oximeter helps to correctly measure the oxygen level in the blood. Sometimes they are called personal oxygen meters, finger pulse oximeters, handheld pulse oximeters and wrist pulse oximeters.

They are all designed to accomplish the same purpose, which is measurement of arterial blood oxygen saturation at home, hospitals, private physician clinics and alternate care settings. Inexpensive fingertip oximeters are now available for home care purposes thatwork just as well as the ones used in hospitals but far less expensive. They are so easy to use, and their operation is as simple as turning the power on and putting your finger inside the pulse oximeter sensor, and within a few minutes, results are displayed on the monitor. Most pulse oximeters are able to measure blood oxygen saturation as well as pulse rate. They are vital for patients that have been diagnosed with lung or heart disease, such as patients that suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as well individuals that suffer from sleep apnea syndrome, or involved in sports in high altitude endeavors such as pilots.

A finger pulse oximeter works like a fingertip oximeter, as well as handheld pulse oximeter and wrist pulse oximeter. The differences are often how many patients data the device is able to capture, stored and display. Operation of any one of them is the same. Power the device on, slide one finger into the attached sensor, and within a few moments an accurate reading of oxygen saturation level and heart rate is displayed. Wrist pulse oximeters on the on the other hand are available with adequate memory to measure and store patient data around the clock. These types of pulse oximeters are suitable not only for regular spot checks, but can be used during exercise and over-night sleep studies by doctors or patients to monitor oxygen saturation during different activities (including sleep).

A Handheld pulse oximeter functions fundamentally the same as a fingertip oximeter. Some are designed to be directly plugged into a computer. Because of their size, they are not as portable as fingertip pulse oximeters. Measure of arterial blood oxygen saturation can be accomplished not only by inserting a finger into a sensor probe, but also by attaching a probe specifically designed for measurement of oxygen saturation from blood vessels in the earlobe (called an ear clip sensor).

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