Figures
- Figure 1
The Lifebox Pulse Oximeter.
Tables
- Table 1 Causes of hypoxaemia
Neonates Children Adults Respiratory distress syndrome Birth asphyxia Sepsis Apnoea Hypoventilation Pneumonia Meningitis Acute asthma Acute sepsis Severe malaria Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Acute asthma Pneumonia Sepsis Shock Major trauma Anaphylaxis Acute heart failure Pulmonary embolism Pleural effusion Pneumothorax Lung fibrosis Carbon monoxide poisoning Obstetric and surgical emergencies Sickle cell crises - Table 2 Pulse oximetry specifications for hospital operating theatres
Environmental issues and other specifications Oximeters should comply with relevant standards such as International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 69691-1 and International Standards Organisation (ISO)9919:2005. Units should work reliably in a wide range of operating temperatures (e.g. 10°C to 40°C) and humidities (e.g. relative humidity 15–95%). Physical features Units should be robust enough to withstand falls of 1 m onto concrete. Portability and ease of handling is desirable. Power supply Units must be able to be powered by rechargeable batteries, normal batteries and mains supply electricity. Ease of use Oximeters should be intuitive and simple to use. Interfaces should be language free to the extent possible, although it may be suitable to have configurable language displays. Alarms Alarms indicating breaches of safe limits of oxygen saturation should be audible and supplemented with a visible change of display (such as flashing). Ideally an alarm should indicate sensor misplacement. Oxygen saturation Arterial oxygen saturation should be measured between clinically relevant limits (e.g. 70–100%) with reasonable accuracy (e.g. ±2% of true saturation). Pulse display The device should have a plethysmograph display of the pulse (either waveform or bar graph). The unit should measure pulse rate between clinically appropriate limits (e.g. 20–200 beats·min−1) to ±3 beats·min−1. The pulse rate should also be displayed numerically and be represented by an audible tone, which changes as saturation levels deteriorate. Display The readout should be clearly visible from 5 m. Sensors/probes Probes should be as robust as possible. A range of sensors covering various sizes and ages of patient should be available, and all probes should be reusable. Warranties and maintenance The expected life of the oximeter and probes should be specified and appropriate warranties provided. User and service manuals should be provided, electronically and by hard copy, in a variety of languages.
Vol 9 Issue 2
Table of Contents
Pulse oximetry in low-resource settings
Jump To
- Article
- Abstract
- Oximetry
- Use of pulse oximeters
- Pulse oximetry for anaesthesia and surgery
- The WHO Surgical Safety Checklist
- Barriers to achieving global pulse oximetry
- Pulse oximetry outside the operating theatre in low-resource settings
- Pulse oximetry specifications
- Pulse oximetry probe design and prices
- Lifebox
- Conclusion
- Footnotes
- References
- Figures & Data
- Info & Metrics