Manufacturers of pulse oximeters are currently many and each claims that their products are the best in the market. These claims make it very hard to select the right product for personal use. This becomes even harder if one has no idea about the features the device should have. This article contains useful information concerning the features to ensure are available in CMS pulse oximeters before buying.
A pulse oximetry gadget becomes useful in a wide range of circumstances and reasons. The immediacy of checking heart rate and blood oxygen concentration is one of the major reasons. Checking these two parameters is vital especially when one is exercising or when flying because the normal functioning of brain is affected in some people by changes in air pressure and altitude. Efficiency of CPAP therapy in patients with sleep apnea can also be determined by wearing the device at night when going to bed.
The first feature to check for should be the recording function. This function allows the device to maintain a record of values for the heart rate and oxygen saturation for a given period of time. This is useful when doing comparisons to determine changes in the two parameters. Such records can reveal the time of the night when apnea activities are happening. This is because the heart rate increases while oxygen saturation in blood drops when the activities are taking place.
Another aspect of great importance is the accuracy of values measured and displayed. Most devices allow a given degree of error in their readings. Highest error margins appear more in cheap devices hence one should know. Regardless of the type of product, error margins should not exceed 2 percent. Other means can be used to confirm accuracy of a device.
The display and the kind of information displayed should also be checked. In low-end models, the primary display is the normal LED display. Low-end display does not show any other information besides the two major parameters the device measures. Better displays are used in better brands and parameters like battery level indicator, menus, perfusion index value, pulse meter, and pulse waveform are also displayed besides the two parameters.
One should buy a product in which it is possible to set the threshold values for heart rate and O2 saturation percentage. Such capabilities also call for incorporation of an alarm system. Whenever the values fall below or rise above the threshold values, the user in alerted by the alarm. This way, the patient can be prevented from going into serious conditions like commas through taking of preventive measures. The alarms also indicate low battery levels.
The oximeter bought must have a warranty period. Warranties for these products are normally two years or more. When buying a high-end oximeter, avoid settling for those that the warranty does not exceed two years. Warranties provide protection against losses caused by the negligence of producers.
When buying a product that utilizes rechargeable lithium ion battery, one must check to ensure that it has not been on the shelf for more than one year. This is because damages are caused to lithium ion batteries when the discharge process takes a long period. The best products to settle for are the ones that use both standard alkaline and rechargeable batteries.
A pulse oximetry gadget becomes useful in a wide range of circumstances and reasons. The immediacy of checking heart rate and blood oxygen concentration is one of the major reasons. Checking these two parameters is vital especially when one is exercising or when flying because the normal functioning of brain is affected in some people by changes in air pressure and altitude. Efficiency of CPAP therapy in patients with sleep apnea can also be determined by wearing the device at night when going to bed.
The first feature to check for should be the recording function. This function allows the device to maintain a record of values for the heart rate and oxygen saturation for a given period of time. This is useful when doing comparisons to determine changes in the two parameters. Such records can reveal the time of the night when apnea activities are happening. This is because the heart rate increases while oxygen saturation in blood drops when the activities are taking place.
Another aspect of great importance is the accuracy of values measured and displayed. Most devices allow a given degree of error in their readings. Highest error margins appear more in cheap devices hence one should know. Regardless of the type of product, error margins should not exceed 2 percent. Other means can be used to confirm accuracy of a device.
The display and the kind of information displayed should also be checked. In low-end models, the primary display is the normal LED display. Low-end display does not show any other information besides the two major parameters the device measures. Better displays are used in better brands and parameters like battery level indicator, menus, perfusion index value, pulse meter, and pulse waveform are also displayed besides the two parameters.
One should buy a product in which it is possible to set the threshold values for heart rate and O2 saturation percentage. Such capabilities also call for incorporation of an alarm system. Whenever the values fall below or rise above the threshold values, the user in alerted by the alarm. This way, the patient can be prevented from going into serious conditions like commas through taking of preventive measures. The alarms also indicate low battery levels.
The oximeter bought must have a warranty period. Warranties for these products are normally two years or more. When buying a high-end oximeter, avoid settling for those that the warranty does not exceed two years. Warranties provide protection against losses caused by the negligence of producers.
When buying a product that utilizes rechargeable lithium ion battery, one must check to ensure that it has not been on the shelf for more than one year. This is because damages are caused to lithium ion batteries when the discharge process takes a long period. The best products to settle for are the ones that use both standard alkaline and rechargeable batteries.
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