CO-oximeter

A CO-oximeter is a device for of detecting hypoxia, a medical condition relating to oxygen deficiency at tissue level. It is an enhanced version of a pulse oximeter operating with more than two wavelengths.

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The device measures absorption at several wavelengths to distinguish oxyhemoglobin from carboxyhemoglobin and determine the oxyhemoglobin saturation: the percentage of oxygenated Hb compared to the total amount of Hb, including carboxy-Hb, met-Hb, oxy-Hb, and reduced Hb. When a patient presents with carbon monoxide poisoning, the CO-oximeter will detect this Hb and will report the oxyhemoglobin saturation as markedly reduced.

See also

Pulse oximeter