How do we measure oxygen saturation in our blood?

As you’ve probably already experienced at the doctor’s office, they put a little device on your finger and it magically measured your level of oxygen (saturation or SpO2) in your blood and your heart rate. If there is a more common knowledge how important out heart rate is, it is a little bit less known how important information about our oxygen saturation really is.

What »oxygen saturation« means?

Information about oxygen saturation shows how much haemoglobin in our blood is filled with oxygen – of the saturation is 100 percent it means that the hemoglobin is filled to the fullest. If we are healthy and breathe normally, our blood fills up with oxygen through lungs. The normal saturation moves between 95 and 100 percent. For our body it is vital, that it gets enough oxygen supply and so it is smart to monitor those levels – one of the quickest and easiest ways is to use oximeter. You can read more about why oxygen is so important for our body here.

How does the pulse oximeter work?

Hemoglobin which is filled with oxygen passes the wavelenghts of light better then the hemoglobin with less oxygen – and this is the finding on which the pulse oximetery is based. When we want to measure our oxygen level, we have to flash a red light through the blood and analyze it with a help of findings about hemoglobin absorption characteristics. The pulse oxymeter has a red light on one side and photodetector on the other side. The letter measures the changing absorbance at each of the wavelenghts and therefore determines oxygen saturation in arterial blood.

Pulse oxymeters have many good qualities, which contribute to their wide usage. Before they were developed we had to take blood with a needle and analyze it in laboratories – with oximeter we can now measure oxygen saturation completely noninvasively and harmlessly. The measurement with oximeter is also very quick – we can find out about our saturation only a few seconds. One of the best aspects it is also their size. Pulse oximeters are very small, easily portable and we can use it anywhere, anytime.

If you want to know have a regular check-up over your oxygen saturation, you should get your own pulse oxymeter. You could use it at home, at work or during your activities. Order your oximeter here.