finger pulse oximeter

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rfbdorf

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Richard Berthelsdorf
A guy on the Cessna Pilots Association forums set up this deal on finger pulse oximeters - $145 including shipping; normally $199. The company made a special price for available to AOPA and CPA members, that looks good to me. I have no relation to this company, other than having just sent in my order for one.

http://www.turnermedical.com/pilot-special.htm

- Richard
 
rfbdorf said:
A guy on the Cessna Pilots Association forums set up this deal on finger pulse oximeters - $145 including shipping; normally $199. The company made a special price for available to AOPA and CPA members, that looks good to me. I have no relation to this company, other than having just sent in my order for one.

http://www.turnermedical.com/pilot-special.htm

- Richard
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Hey Richard, that sounds like a good deal! I paid more than twice that much for the one I have. Mine's a Nonin.
 
Richard,

Thanks for the post. I just placed an order. I've been looking for a deal on one of these.

Chip
 
That's a great price. I think I paid twice that 5 years ago for mine.

Everyone that flys high should have one.
 
They are eye opening. Take it up to the legal maximum altitude and see what you get. Compare that with your average ER standards:
I think they start panicking below 90 and think you are on the way out at 80%.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
I think they start panicking below 90 and think you are on the way out at 80%.
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Imagine my consternation in the following scenario: I was flying with another pilot/editor/journalist type in his turbocharged airplane when he pulled out his Nonin and found himself at 86 percent. I was at 94 percent. We were both using cannulas at 18,000 feet. He then asked for a clearance to CLIMB to 22,000 for weather. I urged him to let me fly for a while, at which point he fell asleep and I descended to 14,000 pronto. Turned out he was testing a new design and it was leaking because he had installed it improperly.

Without that oximeter and having recently discussed with Dr. Bruce the 90 percent limit, I can only wonder how long I would have deferred to his impaired judgment.
 
Imagine my consternation in the following scenario: I was flying with another pilot/editor/journalist type in his turbocharged airplane when he pulled out his Nonin and found himself at 86 percent. I was at 94 percent. We were both using cannulas at 18,000 feet. He then asked for a clearance to CLIMB to 22,000 for weather. I urged him to let me fly for a while, at which point he fell asleep and I descended to 14,000 pronto. Turned out he was testing a new design and it was leaking because he had installed it improperly.
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Jakers crakers, Ken.
Without naming any names, remember "weee don't need no stinkin pulse oximeter"....from an editor in your former organization.....
 
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Richard~
Thanks so much for the information on the pulse oximeter... what a great buy!

I also just placed an order with them... looking forward to checking above 8 - 10,000 feet out here in the west.
 
Me too! Just ordered one. I was considering ordering one from Sporty's about three weeks ago. Glad I didn't!
 
I have been waiting and waiting for a deal on the Nonin, and even had a Dr. friend of mine look to get me one through his clinic at cost.

I just placed the order for this one - what a deal!
 
> We were both using cannulas at 18,000 feet. He then asked for a clearance to CLIMB to 22,000 for weather.

My cannula is specified only to 18000 feet.
Is there a cannula good for 22000 feet?
 
CaptainChuck said:
> We were both using cannulas at 18,000 feet. He then asked for a clearance to CLIMB to 22,000 for weather.

My cannula is specified only to 18000 feet.
Is there a cannula good for 22000 feet?
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Not to my knowledge, and not in the airplane at the time. Therein lies yet another link in a chain that fortunately was broken.
 
What a deal I got! After I bought the Seneca II last spring I went rummaging around in the map pockets and came up with a Nonin Pulse Oximeter that was "dead." Turned out, all it needed was fresh batteries. The old owner didn't ask, and I didn't tell -- finders, keepers! It works perfectly now, and I agree: Don't fly high without one -- or you may end up "higher" than you ever imagined.;)
 
Physiologically, it is impossible to maintain 90% saturation on a cannula at much beyond 20,000 feet. At 18,000 is requires a LOT of flow. From 20-24 you need at least a simple occlusive face mask with a reservoir bag. Above 240 you need the Scott 2000 pressure demand system.

And no, you can't do better than this with acclimation. this is a PHYSICS limit.
 
I asked my cardio about the significance of various sp02 readings. Usually I read 96-97. Down to 94 once or twice, when I had a cold or something. One time it went down to 90 when I was talking while on a treadmill.

Picking up some activity raises it some. Sometimes putting it on backwards raises it one point.

Since the unit operates by comparing red vs IR transmssion it seems likely that everything but the phase of the moon can affect it.

Me cardio said not to worry if it's above 90, but that sounds simplistic. Is there a more detailed way to interpret these things?

My unit seems to be in good calibration - it agrees with the hospital gym's Onyx.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
They are eye opening. Take it up to the legal maximum altitude and see what you get. Compare that with your average ER standards:
I think they start panicking below 90 and think you are on the way out at 80%.
Click to expand...

"Panic?" We ER folks don't know the meaning of the word.

Had a guy with sats around 40 yesterday. What did I do? FLEW him to the VA.

Jon
 
bbchien said:
Physiologically, it is impossible to maintain 90% saturation on a cannula at much beyond 20,000 feet. At 18,000 is requires a LOT of flow. From 20-24 you need at least a simple occlusive face mask with a reservoir bag. Above 240 you need the Scott 2000 pressure demand system.

And no, you can't do better than this with acclimation. this is a PHYSICS limit.
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Another consideration is that is can be impossible to maintain adequate saturation using a cannula if your nose is stuffy. Think about using the mask if you aren't breathing easily through the nose.

Jon
 
CaptainChuck said:
Me cardio said not to worry if it's above 90, but that sounds simplistic. Is there a more detailed way to interpret these things?
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The way the device works is that it measures spectra from two wavelengths- peaks for unsaturated and saturated hemoblobin. It cancels out all spectra that is not phasic - so all it reads is blood. Then it uses a lookup table in EPROM to tell you a number.

It is AMAZING how much saturation varies from beat to beat and depending on phase of respiration- two or three % is common. But this is the way your lungs actually work.
 
It seems one's oxygen saturation under various specified conditions would indicate one's vardiovascular health.

Assuming that, what are reference values for various altitudes and activities?
 
Thanks for the link. I orderd one as well. Flying over the grand canyon corridor at 10500/11500 I often wonder if hypoxia is a threat. I never stay that high that long, But this will be a nice way to measure the threat.
 
As the new safety officer for my club (nobody raised their hand so I got the hat) I was wondering if this might be a good purchase for our club. We own 2 172's and a doubt they see much use above 10K. They do see a lot of 7500 and 8500 over New York airspace

Also, would this prove useful in evaluating possible CO2 issues. We have the Paper spot detectors
 
Mine came in yesterday and I have no complaints. Seems to work well on the ground but I haven't used it in the airplane yet.

Chip
 
corjulo said:
Also, would this prove useful in evaluating possible CO2 issues. We have the Paper spot detectors
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Mine says no. I have the nonin ( http://www.portablenebs.com/nonin9500.htm ). It says you can't tell if you're subject to CO by using it.

So, being a belt-and-suspenders kinda guy, I bought two CO detectors. I have the 9-volt-battery operated portable, and the cigar-lighter version. Now I fly in warm, toasty comfort...confident that I have a way to monitor CO.
 
Michael said:
Thanks for the link. I orderd one as well. Flying over the grand canyon corridor at 10500/11500 I often wonder if hypoxia is a threat. I never stay that high that long, But this will be a nice way to measure the threat.
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I'm in pretty good health for a 54 year old (regularly participate in several active sports) yet I find that my O2-sat drops below 90% above about 9000 MSL most of the time. If I plan to be above 9-10K for longer than half an hour I like to use supplemental O2. I can push the O2-sat above 90% with deliberate breathing, but that's distracting and easy to forget in a crunch.

Near sea level (home elevation = 900-1000 MSL) I'm only at 96-98% most of the time. Is this normal or do I have some sort of problem?
 
corjulo said:
As the new safety officer for my club (nobody raised their hand so I got the hat) I was wondering if this might be a good purchase for our club. We own 2 172's and a doubt they see much use above 10K. They do see a lot of 7500 and 8500 over New York airspace
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IME, as long as you stay below 9000 there's not much risk of hypoxia. I'm assuming that your club doesn't have O2 in the planes, and if not, all you could do is descend if your O2-sat got low.

Also, would this prove useful in evaluating possible CO2 issues. We have the Paper spot detectors
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No, see the other posts on this.
 
corjulo said:
As the new safety officer for my club (nobody raised their hand so I got the hat) I was wondering if this might be a good purchase for our club. We own 2 172's and a doubt they see much use above 10K. They do see a lot of 7500 and 8500 over New York airspace

Also, would this prove useful in evaluating possible CO2 issues. We have the Paper spot detectors
Click to expand...

Dan, Bob G is correct. The spectrum of methemoglobin, which is what happens with CO, results in almost no adsorbance at either of the two bands monitored by the oximeter. The net result is oxygen carrying capacity is subtracted and not registered. The normal hemoglobin that remains will still register whatever percent that part is saturated. Kinda like bleeding to death...the active hemoglobin is just not available.

Still need Monoxide detectors.
 
Mine arrived this afternoon. Tests on three people (wife, son and me) all showed reasonable pulse rates and 99% O2 saturation. Not terribly surprising since none of us smoke and the house is at about 50 MSL. It will be interesting to see what readings I get the next time I get to fly.
 
I've had one for about a year now. I keep it in my pants pocket.

During that time I've detected irregular rthyms in several people, including one teenager.

It seems that women tend to have higher rates than men. My cardio says it isn't so.

I was rather surprised to see a rate of 130-150 in two healthy women when they were under emotional stress (visiting their Father in the hospital).
 
I just thought I would bring this thread to the top (sorry I know I should let the old ones die) to let everyone who is new to the thread that the deal still works...$145 shipped in two days. Came within inches of buying the nonin for $275.
 
I just tried the link (May 21 9:19pm EDT) and it comes up "The page cannot be found." :( Anybody know for sure if I missed out?
 
I've worn a mask at FL250 and kept my oxygen sat level over 95%: it wasn't a demand mask. Several folks I've spoken with have gone to FL290 on a non-pressure mask and kept sat. above 90%. We're all different and there doesn't seem to be complete agreement on where reflexes and reasoning are affected. 90 percent is a little conservative for me personally, but a great minimum target to be safe.

On cannulas--oxygen conservation ones from Scott, my sat level drops below 90% above 16,000 unless I breathe deliberately from my diaphragm--deep breaths. So, I go to a mask about 16,000.

At night, I go on oxygen above 10,000 and most of the time do that during daylight if I'm going to stay that high for awhile.

I've functioned effectively below 90, 85 or 86 seems to be were my reactions slow. I've done several tests on several occasions with a co-pilot. Doesn't mean I don't get a headache later though. Therefore, 90 is a great minimum.

I believe Mountain High is now advertising a pulse cannula certified up to FL, but since I'm going to a pressurized plane, haven't checked the details.

Best,

Dave
 
lancefisher said:
I'm in pretty good health for a 54 year old (regularly participate in several active sports) yet I find that my O2-sat drops below 90% above about 9000 MSL most of the time.
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Lance, it isn't just you. Ditto for this 49 year old from the flatlands despite the fact that I can and do regularly climb from 11.4k to 13.0k with ~40# strapped on my back, kicking steps in deep snow pack as I climb, all the while wearing ski boots. BTW, I can feel myself getting down right stupid as I do so. The 25-year olds can nearly lap me (20 minute hike for them, near 45 minutes for me) but atleast I can still make the haul.

If I plan to be above 9-10K for longer than half an hour I like to use supplemental O2. I can push the O2-sat above 90% with deliberate breathing, but that's distracting and easy to forget in a crunch.
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I've found that exhaling through pursed lips (pretend you are inflating a balloon) will push oxygen saturation levels into the "normal" range -- ~98% for me.

Near sea level (home elevation = 900-1000 MSL) I'm only at 96-98% most of the time. Is this normal or do I have some sort of problem?
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Either you are "normal" or we both have the same problem. Don't know exactly which is true. ;-)
 
Ed Guthrie said:
Either you are "normal" or we both have the same problem. Don't know exactly which is true. ;-)
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The problem is that we have survived so long that this is beginning to be a problem. I wear O2 reflexly at 10,000 days, 8,000 @nights in IMC. Sats stay in the 90s and I feel/perform better.
 
Lance F said:
I just tried the link (May 21 9:19pm EDT) and it comes up "The page cannot be found." :( Anybody know for sure if I missed out?
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It looks like you might have missed out:(. However, it might be worth calling the company to see if they will still give you the discount...not likely but worth a try.
 
I had a chance to use my pulse oximeter for the first time on my last trip. I'm concerned that it's not working properly.

On the way out my wife and I both took several readings. Because of strong west winds we flew much of the trip at 4,500' and both got readings from 96% to 98%. On the way home we flew the entire trip above 11,000',with substantial portions at 14,000'. Neither of our readings ever got below 91% and most were in the 95% - 98% range.

I'm having a hard time believing these readings given we spent a good deal of time up high, but I've got no baseline.

Any thoughts?
 
Joe Williams said:
Any chance you can borrow someone else's for a flight and compare readings?
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As a matter of fact.... good idea Joe. I have a friend with one of the high dollar oximeters. I'd do a compare and contrast soon.
 
gibbons said:
As a matter of fact.... good idea Joe. I have a friend with one of the high dollar oximeters. I'd do a compare and contrast soon.
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I don't think you need to fly high to compare readings either, just hold your breath, or breathe in a bag. OTOH holding your breath may show big differences if there is different filtering or averaging in the readings between the two devices unless you can maintain a sub-normal reading for a few minutes.
 
I think mine is working great. above 10k i sometimes get readings in the low 90s. But after taking a few Deep breaths, it will jump back up to the high 90s.
 
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