The Beginnings of Pulse Oximeter

Like other important health care machines, pulse oximeter has its beginnings. But before we have oximeters, the oxygen saturation was measured by a painful arterial blood gas. It causes delays for about a minimum of 20-30 minutes to obtain the result. And delay this should not be the case, it is not acceptable especially to cases like severe brain damage that can occur within 5 minutes of low oxygenation. Due to that case, there are reports saying 2,000 to 10,000 patients died because of undetected hypoxemia per year.

The pulse oximeter device has developed through out the years. It has its significant years before it was fully developed. In the year 1864, Geory Gabriel Stokes discovered that hemoglobin is the oxygen carrier in blood. This pushes to develop oxygen saturation measurement. In the year 1935, when Matthes developed the first oxygen saturation meter, it is used with a 2-wavelength light source with red and green filters, which was later changed to red and infrared filters.

In the year 1941, Oximetry testing is first used to measure oxygen saturation level with an oximeter. While year 1972, an oximeter based on the ratio of red to infrared light absorption in blood was developed.

In the year 1981, the first commercial of oximeter was introduced. It was focused on respiratory care and later expanded into operating rooms. Since then, oximeter has improved significantly because manufacturers have started to enter the market.

In the year 1987, pulse oximetry becomes a part of a standard procedure in administrating general anesthetic in US. Its use was then quickly spread to other hospital units, such as emergency rooms, recovery rooms, neonatal units, and intensive care units.

Moreover, fingertip pulse oximeter first appeared on the market in the year 1995. And a significant followed, year 2007, Food and Drug Administration approved oximeter to appear on the market. As of today, an oximeter has becoming affordable and widely available for home use.

Pulse oximeter has come a long way with the technology. When it was first available commercially in the 1970's, it weighed about 35 pounds with a bulky and clumsy earpiece. The cord attached to the sensor looked like a C clamp and was very uncomfortable when attached to a patient's ear. But now, a pulse oximeter only weights a few ounces for a fingertip model.

Pulse oximeter, as an important medical machine, has evolved throughout the years. It continually let its user particularly the children, infants and adults to use oximeter machines for their benefits. Oximeter machines are used in hospital, sub-acute or home setting where breathing needs to be monitored.