Pulse oximeter

Lecture 8
Introduction
• Pulse oximeters measure how much of the hemoglobin in blood is
carrying oxygen (oxygen saturation).
• Pulse oximeters measure oxygen saturation.
• The hemoglobin without oxygen we will call de oxygenated
hemoglobin (deoxy Hb). The hemoglobin with oxygen, we will call
oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy Hb).
• Oxygen saturation simply refers to the percentage of the available
hemoglobin that carries oxygen. Take the situations below. There are
16 hemoglobin units and none of the 16 have oxygen. The oxygen
saturation is therefore 0 %.
• If 8 of the 16 Hb have oxygen. The oxygen saturation is
therefore 50 %.
• Hemoglobin (Hb) absorbs light.
• The amount of light absorbed is proportional to the concentration of Hb in the blood
vessel.
• Each single Hb absorbs some of the light, so more the Hb per unit area, more is the
light is absorbed.
• This property is described in a law in physics called “Beer’s Law”.
• Beer’s Law: Amount of light absorbed is proportional to the concentration of the
light absorbing substance.
• By measuring how much light reaches the light detector, the pulse oximeter knows
how much light has been absorbed. More the Hb in the finger , more is the light
absorbed.
 Transmitter

Receiver
During Systole and Diastole
A photoplethysmogram (PPG)
• A PPG is often obtained by using a pulse O
ximeter which illuminates the skin and
measures changes in light absorption.
• Photoplethysmography (PPG) is a noninvasive
method to detect the changes of blood volume
in living tissue by photoelectricity.
• A light source (e.g. LED) transmits light
through a capillary bed (e.g finger tip or ear
lobe) and photodetectors (e.g. phototransistor)
are placed appropriately to measure the
reflected and/or transmitted light
• With each beat of the heart, arterial blood pressure rises
(systole period) and the extremities increase: (slightly) in
physical size. In addition, increased oxygenation decreases
the optical density of surface tissue. During the heart's
period of relaxation (diastole period),
• Each cardiac cycle appears as a peak.
• Even though this pressure pulse is somewhat damped by the
time it reaches the skin, it is enough to distend the arteries
and arterioles in the subcutaneous tissue
• The change in volume caused by the pressure pulse is
detected by illuminating the skin with the light from a
light-emitting diode (LED) and then measuring the
amount of light either transmitted or reflected to a
photodiode.
• Each cardiac cycle appears as a peak, as seen in the
figure.
Difference between ECG and PPG signal
Block Diagram of Finometer

*LED is infrared (light source)

*Band pass filter(high pass + Low
pass)
* Sensor(Photo-Diode or Photo-
Resistor or Photo-Transistor)
Blood Pressure
• When your heart beats, it pumps blood round your body to give it the
energy and oxygen it needs. As the blood moves, it pushes against the
sides of the blood vessels. The strength of this pushing is your blood
pressure
Measuring Blood pressure
• Components of traditional blood pressure device:
• 1-Rubber Cuff
• 2-bump
• 3-mercury meter
• 4-Stethoscope