Features To Look For When Buying CMS Pulse Oximeters

By Annabelle Holman


Manufacturers of pulse oximeters are currently many and each claims that their products are the best in the market. These claims make it very hard to select the right product for personal use. This becomes even harder if one has no idea about the features the device should have. This article contains useful information concerning the features to ensure are available in CMS pulse oximeters before buying.

A pulse oximetry gadget becomes useful in a wide range of circumstances and reasons. The immediacy of checking heart rate and blood oxygen concentration is one of the major reasons. Checking these two parameters is vital especially when one is exercising or when flying because the normal functioning of brain is affected in some people by changes in air pressure and altitude. Efficiency of CPAP therapy in patients with sleep apnea can also be determined by wearing the device at night when going to bed.

Checking for recording capability in a device should be the first thing. Devices with recording capability keep a record of values measured over time. Comparisons can therefore be done over a given time frame. An analysis of the recordings should tell when at night apnea activities occur. This is possible because, during apnea activities, oxygen levels in blood drop and heart rates increase.

Another aspect of great importance is the accuracy of values measured and displayed. Most devices allow a given degree of error in their readings. Highest error margins appear more in cheap devices hence one should know. Regardless of the type of product, error margins should not exceed 2 percent. Other means can be used to confirm accuracy of a device.

One must also check the information shown and the kind of display it is displayed on. Normal LED displays are the commonest in low-end products. No other information besides heart beat and oxygen concentration are displayed by cheap devices. High quality commodities have superior displays that display extra information like menus, perfusion index value, battery level indicator, pulse waveform, and pulse meter apart from the 2 main parameters.

The gadget chosen should allow the user to set threshold values for the two parameters. Devices with this capability also incorporate alarm systems for alerting the user when the values of the two parameters go below or above the threshold. This way, preventive measures can be taken to avoid serious conditions if the patient under medical care. Alarms also warn when battery levels fall below a certain percentage.

The oximeter bought must have a warranty period. Warranties for these products are normally two years or more. When buying a high-end oximeter, avoid settling for those that the warranty does not exceed two years. Warranties provide protection against losses caused by the negligence of producers.

When buying a product that utilizes rechargeable lithium ion battery, one must check to ensure that it has not been on the shelf for more than one year. This is because damages are caused to lithium ion batteries when the discharge process takes a long period. The best products to settle for are the ones that use both standard alkaline and rechargeable batteries.




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