A pulse oximeter is a non-invasive device to measure oxygenation of blood and pulse rates. Using a pulse oximeter can detect under-oxygenation in a patient before it reaches a dangerous level. While use of an oximeter is often carried out on conscious patients, its common use is while a patient is under the effects of anesthesia during surgery. Pulse oximeters are also used for sleep studies, prevention of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), exercise sports training, and often when a patient is receiving adjunct oxygen therapy.
Sleep studies use pulse oximeters to monitor a patient's tendency to stop breathing during sleep. When an individual stops breathing during sleep, this is termed "sleep apnea." Regular periods of sleep apnea creates low oxygen levels in the blood and interferes with the regular sleep cycle. These patients often complain of a lack of feeling well rested. Some pulse oximeters have software that allows recording of the trend of oxygen saturation during a sleep cycle. Oximeters are often used for people whom have sleep apnea, and the system alarms when the saturation reaches a pre-set threshold.
Exercise sports training often incorporates the use of pulse oximetry to measure oxygenation during exercise. Many athletes monitor their oxygen levels and use various products like hyperbaric chambers, altitude tents, and electric hypoxicators to mimic high altitude conditions. The goal is to increase red blood cell count and metabolic and anaerobic efficiency by training with less oxygen for short periods of time, thus increasing red blood cells and encouraging the body to be more efficient. The goal is for increased speed, endurance and efficiency.
Oxygen therapy is very commonly used in the home for people who suffer from various ailments such as emphysema, COPD, chronic bronchitis, pneumonia, and other related respiratory illnesses. Some conditions make it important to monitor the oxygen saturation when the patient has a risk of not breathing or is unable to make others aware of a short supply of oxygen. When the oxygen saturation level drops below a pre-set threshold, some oximeters will sound an alarm to alert the caregiver that insufficient oxygen is being delivered. Using a pulse oximeter also has the added benefit of being able to increase or decrease the oxygen supply when a person's oxygen saturation drops below a target level. Drops in oxygen saturation commonly occur during sleep due to changes in positions, activity, energy level, lung sections, and problems with supply tubing and equipment. Being able to monitor oxygen saturation is a great benefit and allows for early intervention and appropriate determination of the amount of oxygen to deliver.
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