Fingertip Pulse Oximeter Resources
What is a pulse oximetry?
Pulse oximetery is a method to monitor a person's oxygen saturation (SO2) without invasive procedures.
What is SpO2?
O2 stands for peripheral oxygen saturation. It is the percentage of hemoglobin that is oxygenated and provides a good estimate of arterial oxygen saturation
What is a finger pulse oximeter?
A finger pulse oximeter is a small, portable device that is placed on your finger to measure SpO2 and pulse rate.
How does a finger pulse oximeter work?
A pulse oximeter uses a pair of small LEDs and a photodioede (a semiconductor that converts light into a electric current) to shine a light through your finger to measure SpO2 by tracking how much light is blocked by oxygen carrying red blood cells.
What are the limits of a pulse oximeter?
- It doesn't measure CO2 levels, blood pH, or bicarbonate concentration
- SpO2 reading may be a little bit lower than actual blood O2 saturation
- Insufficient bloodflow can affect measurements
- It's not ment to measure respiratory sufficiency