Pulse oximeter
A noninvasive device, typically clipped onto a finger, that uses two wavelengths of light to estimate arterial hemoglobin oxygen saturation and pulse rate.
How it is used
Used to continuously monitor a patient's oxygenation during anesthesia, sedation, and in critical care, enabling early detection of hypoxemia.
Clinical tip
The introduction of pulse oximetry is considered one of the advances that has most improved perioperative safety since its widespread adoption.
Sources
This entry is part of the Instriq catalog, researched and written per specialty from real web research -- never generated or invented without verification -- and reviewed skeptically and independently before publication. How this catalog is written.
Image: Teutotechnik, Med. Produktions- und Vertriebs-GmbH, Wikimedia Commons. License CC BY-SA 3.0. View original source.
History
Added to the catalog on 2026-10-05.
Dates derived from the project's public version-control history on GitHub, not a live collaborative edit log.