Optimizing Portable Pulse Oximeter Measurement Accuracy and Consistency During Exercise

Abstract

Purpose: Monitoring oxygen saturation (SpO2) in some patient populations during exercise is vital. The objectives of this study were to determine whether under conditions of artificial hypoperfusion pulse oximeter performance during exercise was influenced by sensor type, attachment clip reinforcement, or a low pressure arm cuff. Methods: Six different portable oximeter models were tested on study participants at rest with a control (normothermic) and experimental (hypothermic) hand. Oximeters were then tested during treadmill walking at 1 and 2 mph with the experimental hand remaining hypothermic. Electrocardiographic measurements of heart rate were also taken simultaneously. Results: There were differences in SpO2 values between oximeter pairs following cold exposure at rest for most models (5 out of 6) but during walking for only 1 model. There were also differences between oximeter and electrocardiographic heart rate measurements for some models when study participants walked on a treadmill at 1 mph (1 out of 6) and 2 mph (3 out of 6). Conclusions: Results suggest that oximeter performance is better when measuring SpO2 than heart rate. Cold-induced hypoperfusion caused inaccuracies in SpO2 measurements, which were greater at rest than during exercise. Study results also suggest that some pulse oximeters perform better when the oximeter sensor attachment clip is reinforced with an elastic band.

Self-Sustainable Smart Ring for Long-Term Monitoring of Blood Oxygenation

“…Many chronic diseases, such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) [11], require the continuous monitoring of medical parameters such as heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), blood oxygen saturation (SpO 2 ) [12]- [16]. Commercial products like Nonin Elite 3240 [5] iHealth PO3 [6] can acquire the heart rate, respiratory rate and oxygenation level with high accuracy and transfer these data to a remote host (phone or PC). Although these devices allow homemeasurement, both provide only an on-demand solution, and the user has to decide when to use them.…”

“…Also, commercial devices are available on the market to monitor the blood oxygenation level. Most of them are oximetry-based and look like a smart wristband worn on the wrist [5], [6]. In contrast to the previous academic works, the marked products exploit onboard processing to have an energy efficient device that can last a few days.…”