Basics 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 model was later improved by some physician called Wood in 1949. Wood incorporated a pressure capsule for squeezing blood out of the ear to get zero setting in an attempt to get absolute Oxygen saturation level. The present models work on the same principals as the original one. The working principal was however difficult to implement due to unstable light sources and photocells.

Oximetry itself was developed in the year 1972 at Nihon Kohden by 2 bioengineers, Takuo and Michio. These two bioengineers used the ratio between infrared and red light absorption of pulsating parts at measuring sites. A corporation called Biox did the first distribution of oximeter on large scale in the year 1981. By then, the appliance was chiefly utilized in operating rooms and corporations that manufactured it aligned most of their funds and advertising in this direction.

Oximetry is a crucial noninvasive technique of determining the amount of oxygen in human body. It utilizes a pair of small LEDS, light emitting diodes, which face some photodiode through a translucent portion of the body. Examples of such translucent parts are fingertips, earlobes, and toe tips. One LED is red whereas the other is infrared. The red LED is usually 660 nm while the infrared LED is 940, 910, or 905 nm.

The absorption speed of the 2 wavelengths differs between oxygenated and deoxygenated versions of oxygen in human body. This disparity in rate of absorption may be utilized to gauge the ratio between de-oxygenated and oxygenated blood oxygen. The indicated signal is changed over time with each heartbeat since arterial blood veins constrict and expand with each passing heartbeat. The monitors are capable of assuming other tissues or makeup on nails by monitoring the varying portion of absorption spectrum alone.

By observing the varying absorption section alone, the blood oxygen monitor only displays the percentage of arterial hemoglobin in oxyhemoglobin configuration. Patients without COPD but with hypoxic drive issues have a reading that ranges between 95 and 99 percent. Those with hypoxic drive issues normally have values that range between 88 and 94 percent. Usually figures of 100 percent may suggest carbon monoxide poisoning.

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 come in many varieties. Some are cheap costing a few dollars while others are very complex and expensive. They can be obtained from any store that deals with such pieces of equipment.




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