Handheld Pulse Oximeter

The portability of a device plays a major role in a physician’s duty of monitoring his patients—the ease of transferring from one place to another, carrying lightweight materials that aid in his assessment and evaluation and so on. But now, with the advent of modern technology, scientific equipments and medical devices have become smaller, lightweight, portable, and wireless, making it possible to perform tests with such ease and accuracy.

In the past, older models of pulse oximeters were bulky. They have to stay in one place and placed on top of the table (hence the term, tabletop pulse oximeter) or rack for safety. They also have large displays which makes it visible from a distance. These types are really useful with its long battery life and large internal memory that can record more than a day of continuous pulse and O₂ saturation monitoring. In addition, it can be used with a variety of compatible probes—disposable or reusable. But bigger doesn’t always mean better. Outpatient monitoring is becoming a trend nowadays. And people are becoming more and more conscious of their health status while on the go. Because of this, it would be better to choose a portable pulse oximeter.

A handheld pulse oximeter is a smaller version of its tabletop counterpart, consisting of a central unit which analyzes the signals arriving from the probe, the portion that is typically worn on the finger. The base unit is equipped with a palm-sized LCD screen that shows the results within a few seconds. Simply put, they are small devices that work just like the conventional oximeters found in hospitals minus the hassle of operating the equipment. But the major difference between them is their size. However, the size doesn’t necessarily affect its function, as well as the amount of information stored in its memory—handheld pulse oximeters are also capable of transferring data when connected to a PC. More advanced units have added features such as an alarm, a waveform display of the pulse to track any changes in the pulse rate, and even a perfusion index. Truly, these devices are rapidly evolving and adapting with the fast-paced lifestyle of the modern times which health care professionals highly appreciate.