One of the first thoughts that come to our minds when we hear the words “Pulse Oximeter” is a person lying in a hospital bed wearing a finger sensor and being monitored by a nurse or a doctor. A pulse oximeter is a device capable of measuring oxygen saturation in arterial blood, and in some models pulse rate as well. It is true, that one of the most relevant application fields for a pulse oximeter lies in the hospital area as being a part of important medical devices, like vital signs monitors and anesthesia units. However, pulse oximeters can also help keep you away from the hospital.
An excellent example of how a Pulse Oximeter can save lives outside the operating room is in aeronautics. In 2003 a PA-28R-200 crashed after a pilot started to make erratic decisions due to hypoxia caused by altitude. At 14,000 feet, blood oxygen saturation falls to 85% (normal values are 95-99%) causing judgment, memory, and thought degradation. The pilot flew above 14,000 feet for 1 hour 49 minutes without supplementary oxygen or a blood oxygen saturation monitor.
Oxygen saturation monitoring has also helped mountain climbers to determine the appropriate altitude to start using their oxygen tanks and avoid “altitude sickness” which is usually over 8,000 feet. Some athletes also use a pulse oximeter for monitoring their oxygen saturation and pulsations per minute while exercising.
As you can see, pulse oximeters like other medical devices, have a large application field outside the hospital and more can be accomplished when these devices become portable. Freescale is aware of this, and they have developed the MED-SPO2. This is a pulse oximeter reference design as an Analog Front End (AFE) development board.
The MED-SPO2 is designed to be used together with the Freescale Tower System, compatible with the Tower system development boards (TWR-S08MM128 for 8-bits, TWR-MCF51MM256 and TWR-K53N512 for 32-bits portfolios) enables the developer to create a fast and low-cost solution for pulse oximeter applications. The MED-SPO2 is reduced in size and components, decreases design time for engineers.
Making pulse oximeter devices as portable as possible with highly integrated hardware solutions like Freescale medical oriented microcontrollers, improves the way in which people integrate these solutions in their daily lives, even outside the operating room.
So next time you see a pulse oximeter, think in all the possible solutions that it can bring not only in the hospital area, but also in your daily life. Portable medical devices help people to make their lives safer and easier.
