Pulse oximeter

Excellent point. Some assumed familiarity and safety practice was assumed but, absolutely, caution is advised if you're a DIY oxygen fill. Thanks for that.
 
Why not just use an Apple or Garmin smart watch ? Mine has O2 sensing, etc.
 
This thread spurred me to get an updated recording pulse oximeter, so I got a couple off Amazon to compare them. I compared my old oximeter (top) with the two new ones. Over 5-10 minutes, the numbers moved around a little but overall had these levels of variation. Quite distressing if I'm looking for accuracy!

20210820-G7-IMG_20210820_095237124.jpg
 
Interesting.

If you swap fingers, do you find that the highest vs lowest variation that you’ve seen corresponds to the sensor or to the finger?

A pulmonary nurse told me they use the ring finger because somebody told them it gives the best reading.
 
NoHeat said:
Interesting.

If you swap fingers, do you find that the highest vs lowest variation that you’ve seen corresponds to the sensor or to the finger?

A pulmonary nurse told me they use the ring finger because somebody told them it gives the best reading.
Click to expand...
@G-Man , that would be interesting to see. Same test, but move each of them to different fingers
 
They always put it on the right index finger when I go to the doctor so that’s where I put my cheap’o Amazon oximeter and I get around 80. My elevation is 17 feet above sea level. I move the thing around until it shows 98. I injured that finger decades ago and the nail is slightly misshapen so I’m assuming it’s not making good contact or something. I don’t know why that isn’t an issue at the doctors’. I haven’t tried it in a plane yet.
 
Many in my profession stopped placing them on the index finger simply because the index finger is the finger everybody uses to rub their eyes, and having a sharp scratchy corner in the eye leads to corneal abrasions post-op. The readings should not vary finger to finger unless there is differential perfusion between fingers.

The best pulse ox I have seen was made by Masimo. They have a proprietary software that results in accurate readings even with challenging conditions such as movement. It was pretty impressive; I could tap my finger with the sensor on it and the readings remained stable. It appears they have a small portable unit https://www.masimo.com/products/monitors/spot-check/mightysatrx/ as well, but it is much more costly than the cheapo models available on Amazon and other places. I am not convinced that most would require anything more than the cheapo models.
 
Well this thread prompted some fun.

I am sitting at home, having just today received my second cheap device from Amazon, as my first is in my east coast hangar, and I might be doing a west to east ferry flight next week in a plane with an oxygen bottle.

We sit at 7.5k elevation, I tested all ten fingers. Readings were generally 96%, worst was my unreadable table-saw-scarred right thumb, best was my left thumb at 99%.
 
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