A device for the continuous indication of oxygen saturation of circulating blood in man

Abstract

A device is described which gives a continuous indication of the oxygen saturation of the blood in the intact human subject by photoelectric measurement in two spectral regions of light transmitted through the pinna of the ear. The oxygen saturation of capillary blood in the warmed ear has been shown by Brinkman to correspond within 2 per cent to that of arterial blood; a close approximation to the arterial saturation is therefore obtainable.