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`MuseumMuseum > Safety & MonitoringSafety & Monitoring > Nellcor Pulse Oximeter
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`NELLCOR PULSE OXIMETER
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`WLM ID: akfrWLM ID: akfr | Catalog RecordCatalog Record
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`Pulse oximeters revolutionized how anesthesiologists ensure that their patients get enough oxygen. Before a
`practical pulse oximeter was developed, physicians had to use expensive and time-consuming methods that
`posed adverse risks for the patient. With no skin puncture necessary, pulse oximeters use fast pulsing
`wavelengths of light to detect and calculate what percentage of a patient's oxygen-transporting hemoglobin is
`loaded with oxygen. The technical name for this measurement is arterial oxyhemoglobin saturation, abbreviated
`SpO2.
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`Like most modern medical devices pulse oximeters represent advancements in technology and a culmination of
`years of knowledge in basic and clinical sciences gained by the trial and error of numerous researchers. Japanese
`researcher, Takuo Aoyagi is often recognized for putting the "pulse" in pulse oximetry by using the waveform
`produced by the arterial pulse to measure and calculate SpO2. He first reported on the work of his team in 1974.
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`In 1981, anesthesiologist William New and two colleagues formed a new company called Nellcor. They released
`their first pulse oximeter, called the Nellcor N-100, in 1983. It quickly became a favored device. The N-100 was
`not only accurate and relatively portable, it incorporated a feature brand new to pulse oximetry technology,
`specifically, a sound indicator that reflected the rate of the pulse as well as the SpO2. If the SpO2 changed so did
`the pitch of the pulsing sound. Nellcor released the N-180, pictured here, around 1987.
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`The content on this Wood Library-Museum website reflects historical uses of objects and materials and may not reflect
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