Facts About CMS Pulse Oximeters

By Madeline Pittman


CMS pulse oximeters are pieces of equipment used to perform pulse oximetry. This kind of oximetry is a non-invasive technique for monitoring the level of saturation of Oxygen gas in the body. This equipment was first invented by a physician called Glenn Allan Millikan in 1940s. This first device operated on two wavelengths and was placed on the ear. The two wavelengths were red and green filters.

This original make was improved later by some physician named Wood in 1949. Wood integrated a pressure capsule for constricting blood out of an ear to get nil setting in a bid to get absolute O2 saturation level. The current models function on the same principals like the original one. The functioning principal was however hard to implement because of unstable light sources and/or photocells.

Oximetry itself was initially developed in 1972 at Nihon Kohden by two bioengineers, Aoyagi and Kishi. These two utilized the ratio of infrared to red light absorption of pulsating constituents at measuring sites. Commercial distribution of oximeter happened in the year 1981 through a firm called Biox. By then, the device was majorly utilized in operating rooms and firms that produced it concentrated most of their advertising in the same direction.

Oximetry is a very crucial noninvasive way of determining the level of oxygen in the human body. It uses a pair of tiny light emitting diodes that face a photodiode through a translucent part of the body. Such translucent parts include fingertips, toe tips, and earlobes. One LED is red while the other one is infrared. The infrared LED is normally 940, 910, or 905 nm while the red one is usually 660 nm.

The absorption rate of the two wavelengths varies between the deoxygenated and oxygenated forms of oxygen in blood. The difference in absorption rate can be used to calculate the ratio between oxygenated and deoxygenated blood O2. The signal observed changes over time with every heart beat because arterial blood vessels contract and expand with every heartbeat. The monitor is able to ignore other tissues or nail makeup by monitoring only the changing section of the absorption spectrum.

By observing the varying absorption section only, blood oxygen monitors can display percentage of arterial hemo-globin in oxy-hemoglobin configuration. Individuals with hypoxic drive conditions without COPD have a value that stands between 99 and 95 percent. People with hypoxic drive problems usually have readings that fall between 94 and 88 percent. Often, figures of a hundred percent may or may not suggest poisoning by carbon monoxide.

An oximeter is useful in a number of applications and environments where the oxygenation of a patient is unstable. Some of the major environments of application include intensive care units, surgical rooms, hospital and ward settings, recovery units, and cockpits in unpressurized aircrafts. The limitation of these gadget is that it only determines the saturation of hemoglobin and not ventilation. It is therefore not a complete measure of respiratory adequacy.

CMS pulse oximeters are made in several varieties. Some are inexpensive costing a few dollars whereas others are very sophisticated and expensive. They may be purchased from any shop that stocks such pieces of equipment.




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