When in 1970s the finger pulse oximeter or "finger pulse ox" was invented, noone could anticipate that by the end of the 1980s the devices would experience a world wide boom as extremely useful, non invasive vital sign monitor. Indeed, drawing blood instead of using an non invasive blood oxygen meter is quite cumbersome. Coincidentally, it was reported that anesthesia-related deaths in surgeries was reduced dramatically during that time.

Today, fingertip pulse oximeters are used in many different settings, from surgery, intensive care units, emergency rooms, mobile emergency medical service, home use, such as for the asthma sufferers, as well as in athletes for oxygen saturation measurements during their peak performance, and in high altitude pilots and extreme mountain climbers.

Sure enough, the use of this quite inexpensive and convenient fingertip blood oximeter has spread into the animal world for use by the veterinarians as well.

In this article we will review some of the most common types of pulse oximeters and their respective uses.

Veterinary oximeter monitor

These come with multiple size sensors and sensor adaptors to accommodate a wide variety of extremities that the sensor gets attached to. If a heart rate monitor is included with the veterinal oximeter monitor, the ability to readout extremely high heart rates is provided, up to several hundred beats, even five hundred, per minute to accommodate smaller animals.

Athletes, extreme mountain climbers, high altitude pilots

These units are usually used by individuals and are often compact, finger oximeters. The ease of readout, and convenience of use is paramount. Athletes must figure out their peripheral blood oxygen saturation in the heat of the game, and the high altitude mountain climbers and pilots must get the readout quickly possibly under the condition of reduced mental ability due to lack of oxygen in the air.

Home use for asthma sufferers

When the breathing pathways are restricted in asthma patients, the readout of a SpO2 monitor helps determine how badly restricted the oxygen supply to the body organs really is. These devices are usually designed for single person use, and need to be easy to use and quick to measure oxygen saturation.

Hospitals and medical centers, ICUs

There are several uses of blood oxygen sensors in hospitals. In operating rooms, they are used by anesthesiologists to make sure the patient's body is well oxygenated at all times. In ICUs oxygen sensors are part of vital sign monitors, and can be permanently attached to the patient, and reading the values continuously. They could be equipped with the alarms to alert the nurses on duty of any deficiencies or abnormalities. The SpO2 monitors used in this way are usually disposable, and only used with a single patient to prevent any contagion.

Emergency rooms, mobile emergency medical service units (spot)

Here, spot vital sign monitors will always include saturation of peripheral oxygen sensors for a quick (ten-twenty second) readout of the patient's vital signs. Here also, due to the possibility of contagion, disposable SpO2 sensor units are preferred, attached to a permanent processing unit with display, housed in a handheld pulse oximeter.

Children, infants, newborns

They all require different sizes of SpO2 sensors due to their small size. Sometimes, the newborns can have the SpO2 sensor attached to the lower arm or leg, without the reduction of the quality of the pulse oximeter readings. In hospitals, spot vital sign monitors would be used, and typically disposable SpO2 sensors and pediatric pulse oximeter models will be used for children.

Sleep studies, apnea studies

When sleep apnea is suspected (disruption of breathing during sleep), a SpO2 monitor will detect reduced oxygen saturation. Typically, for sleep apnea studies during the night, a comfortable, wrist-worn SpO2 units will be used with the finger sensor attachment. The unit will have memory capacity to store the sensor data throughout the night.