Digital Hand-Held Pulse Oximeter

A hand-held pulse oximeter is a new patient monitoring device that combines the capabilities of a bedside unit with the convenience and flexibility of a portable unit compact enough to fit in a pocket.

The oximeter provides clinicians with oxygen saturation, pulse rate, and pulse strength assessment. The oximeter, from Agilent Technologies (Palo Alto, CA, USA), attaches to Agilent's M4531A sensor, a reusable adult finger glove that employs a silicon polymer design to ensure a comfortable fit while minimizing nuisance alarms. The hand-held oximeter can be used for both spot-checking and continuous monitoring in clinical environments where patients do not need intensive monitoring and observation, including step-down and recovery units and emergency settings. The device can also be used for in-home monitoring with a doctor's supervision.

"Because the monitor is hand-held and is easily transported, it saves respiratory therapists' time and is less expensive thf Cordis Corp. (Miami, FL, USA).

Results of three studies confirm the efficacy of Ir-192 gamma radiation. Overall findings in the Gamma I multicenter trial showed that patients treated with Checkmate had 41.4% fewer instances of in-lesion restenosis and 36.3% fewer major adverse cardiac events (death, heart attack), compared to placebo patients. Pooled data from three trials involving native coronary arteries without new stent placement at the lesion site showed Checkmate patients had 66% fewer instances of in-lesion restenosis and 65% fewer major adverse cardiac events, compared to placebo patients.

To perform the one-time procedure, doctors first identify the coronary artery to be treated and insert a guidewire into that artery. The source ribbon, which houses tiny, low-dose radiation seeds, is then threaded through a catheter into the area of blockage. The ribbon is left in place for a brief period and then withdrawn.

"As a radiation therapist, I want a system that is simple to operate and delivers radiation therapy safely and consistently every single time,” said Prabhakar Tripuraneni, M.D., Scripps Clinic (La Jolla, CA, USA). "The Cordis Checkmate system meets all those criteria.”



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