SPO Medical Inc., a New York, NY based company, has unveiled at the Medica 2007 in Düsseldorf its new line of pulse oximeters for the European market, including the PulseOx 6000™ and PulseOx 6100™, both based on the company’s reflectance pulse oximetry technology.
The company explains how its low-powered, reflectance technology measures oxygen saturation in blood without the need for transmission of light through tissue:
There are two methods to measure pulse oximetry: by transmission through a body part or by reflection. In general, the transmission method can only be used on limited areas of the body, such as fingers, earlobes, etc. Furthermore, in some instances when the transmission method is used, physiological conditions such as stress and temperature can affect the accuracy of pulse oximetry readings.
Responding to the need for life-saving information in the field where people cannot be absolutely stationary, SPO Medical developed patented sensors that work accurately during physical activity. This technique uses a reflectance method whereby a very small sensor placed on the body at various locations has the ability to measure oxygen saturation and heart pulse rate. Typical motion artifacts have been compensated for within the system algorithms.
SPO Medical has patented technology that uses the reflectance technique and incorporates it into portable devices that are as reliable as a thermometer or blood pressure cuff. Moreover, these devices operate at a power requirement approximately 1/50th of that compared to commercially available systems. This puts pulse oximetry into the hands medical practitioners and emergency personnel on-site for the safety and benefit of all, and offers the opportunity to create new commercial and consumer applications.
SPO Medical has developed its system to operate in an RF wireless mode. IR technology is also available for short-range wireless data transmission.
SPO Medical – Technology …
Press release: SPO MEDICAL UNVEILS NEW OXIMETRY DEVICES FOR EUROPEAN MARKETS (.pdf)
UPDATE: The images have been changed to display PulseOx 6100™ model on top and PulseOx 6000™ model at the end…