The Features To Look For When Buying A Recording Pulse Oximeter

By Tracie Knight


The engineering of pulse oximeter did not start a few years ago. These devices have been in place for long now and were first made available for commercial purpose in 1970s. At this time, they were cumbersome and very bulky. To make matters worse, the price tag did not favor the majority of the population. The average retail price was somewhere in the range of $ 10,000. There has been however a drastic change over time and just with a few dollars one can get a very nice recording pulse oximeter.

The working of these gadgets depends on scientific principles commonly used. Oxygenated blood usually absorbs red light about 660nm while the deoxygenated blood absorbs infrared light at 940nm. The oximeters are thus designed with two LEDs at 660nm and 960nm and two sensors to gather the same. Once emitted, the LED lights go through tissues from where given amount is absorbed depends on oxygen levels in the blood. The rest is detected by sensors that process it into readable data. Some of the information made available from the device include pulse rate, oxygen absorption rate and the cardiovascular data.

Each device may slightly vary in its working and it is therefore advisable to consider several features when selecting the best device for the job. If possible, the brand and the prices should not be the main determinants but rather, it is better to look for a device that work best for your situation at the lowest price possible.

The first feature to consider is if the model is FDA certified. Pulse oximeter falls in the category of class II device and hence must be registered with FDA before it can be sold. Currently, most of them are FDA certified by it does not harm to run a check on it by going through the FDA Medical Device Data Base from where the manufacturer name is entered on the search field to access the required information.

The next and most important issue to consider is its accuracy and reliability. Given that its primary purpose is to measure oxygen saturation and the pulse rate, all efforts are focused on finding the device that is able to give the most accurate results in a consistent and reliable manner within its operation range. By comparing it with those used in medical centers, you should be able to select a better option.

As much as possible, your device should be easy to use. In fact, the manual guide should be enough to help you through. If you find yourself having to find an expert to help you, then the device is possibly not the right one. In addition to this, the size also matters. Most people prefer a sizable one that is easy to carry around and safely store.

In addition to these, there are several other features that go a long way in assisting you make the right choice. These include its memory, Ability to connect to a computer or phone to allow for data access and analysis. The devices that have multi-person memory status are also considered deal since data for more than one person.

The other issues include its battery life span, storage case, the logbook, its ease of storage, the general appearance and the software program in it. All these in addition to many other features can help select the best oximeter from the store.




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