PULSE OXIMETRY AND

CAPNOGRAPHY
Dr. Maham Khalid
PGR-I Anaesthesia
Fatima Memorial Hospital, Lahore
PULSE OXIMETRY

● It is a non-invasive method of measuring oxygen

saturation in arterial blood.
● Operating Principle: spectral analysis i.e the detection
and quantification of components in a solution by their
unique light absorption characteristics.
● Pulse oximeters combine the principles of
spectrophotometry and plethysmography.
Plethysmography: measures changes in volume of an
organ or whole body (in case of pulse oximetry pulsatile
change in blood volume).
Spectrophotometry: Each compound absorbs or transmits
light over a certain range of wavelength.
Spectrophotometry is used to measure the concentration of
a solute in a solution by calculating the amount of light
absorbed by it.
● Oxyhemoglobin absorbs light maximally in the infrared
band of the spectrum 850-1000 nm (940nm).
● Deoxyhemoglobin absorbs light maximally in the red
band of the spectrum 600-700 nm (660nm).
Beer-Lambert Law

If a light of known intensity illuminates a chamber of known

dimensions, then the concentration of the dissolved
substance can be determined, if the incident and
transmitted light are measured.
Sites of Probe placement:
● Finger
● Toe
● Ear
● Nose
● Tongue
● Forehead
Clinical Considerations

1. Carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) and oxyhemoglobin (HbO2)

absorb light at 660 nm similarly, so pulse oximeter
reading in a patient of CO poisoning will be falsely high.
2. Methemoglobin has the same absorption coefficient at
both red and infrared wavelengths. The resulting 1:1
absorption ratio corresponds to a saturation reading of
85%.
3. Excessive Ambient light
4. Motion
5. Venous Pulsations in a dependent limb
6. Low Perfusion (low cardiac output, hypothermia, anemia)
7. Malpositioned sensor
CAPNOGRAPHY

The term capnography refers to the noninvasive

measurement of the partial pressure of carbon dioxide
(CO2) in exhaled breath expressed as the CO2
concentration over time.
Capnography is a valuable monitor of the pulmonary,
cardiovascular and anesthetic breathing circuits.
CAPNOGRAM
Capnograph in COPD
Curare Cleft