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. 2022:1384:205-218.
doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-06413-5_12.

Pulse Oximetry: The Working Principle, Signal Formation, and Applications

Timo Leppänen #  1   2   3 , Samu Kainulainen #  4   5 , Henri Korkalainen  4   5 , Saara Sillanmäki  5 , Antti Kulkas  4   6 , Juha Töyräs  4   7   8 , Sami Nikkonen  4   5
Affiliations

Pulse Oximetry: The Working Principle, Signal Formation, and Applications

Timo Leppänen et al. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2022.

Erratum in

Abstract

Pulse oximeters are routinely used in various medical-grade and consumer-grade applications. They can be used to estimate, for example, blood oxygen saturation, autonomic nervous system activity and cardiac function, blood pressure, sleep quality, and recovery through the recording of photoplethysmography signal. Medical-grade devices often record red and infra-red light-based photoplethysmography signals while smartwatches and other consumer-grade devices usually rely on a green light. At its simplest, a pulse oximeter can consist of one or two photodiodes and a photodetector attached, for example, a fingertip or earlobe. These sensors are used to record light absorption in a medium as a function of time. This time-varying absorption information is used to form a photoplethysmography signal. In this chapter, we discuss the working principles of pulse oximeters and the formation of the photoplethysmography signal. We will further discuss the advantages and disadvantages of pulse oximeters, which kind of applications exist in the medical field, and how pulse oximeters are utilized in daily health monitoring.

Keywords: Application; Oxygen saturation; Photoplethysmography; Pulse oximetry.

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