7-1 
7 Monitoring SpO
2
 
 
 
7.1 Overview 
SpO
2
 monitoring is a non-invasive technique used to measure the amount of oxygenated 
haemoglobin and pulse rate by measuring the absorption of selected wavelengths of 
light. The light generated in the probe passes through the tissue and is converted into 
electrical signals by the photodetector in the probe. The SpO
2
 module processes the 
electrical signal and displays a waveform and digital values for SpO
2
 and pulse rate. 
 
This device is calibrated to display functional oxygen saturation. It provides following 
measurements. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(1)  Pleth waveform (Pleth): visual indication of patient’s pulse. The waveform is not 
normalized. 
(2)  Perfusion indicator: the pulsatile portion of the measured signal caused by arterial 
pulsation. 
(3)  Oxygen saturation of arterial blood (SpO
2
): percentage of oxygenated hemoglobin in 
relation to the sum of oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin. 
(4)  Perfusion index (PI): gives the numerical value for the pulsatile portion of the 
measured signal caused by arterial pulsation. PI is an indicator of the pulsatile 
strength. You can also use it to assess the quality of SpO
2
 measurement. 
  Above 1 is optimal.   
  between 0.3 and 1 is acceptable.   
  Below 0.3 indicates low perfusion. When PI is below 0.3, a question mark (?) is 
displayed to the right of the SpO
2
 value, indicating that the SpO
2
 value may be 
inaccurate. Reposition the SpO2 sensor or find a better site. If low perfusion 
persists, choose another method to measure oxygen saturation if possible.   
  PI is available for Mindray SpO
2
 module and Masimo SpO
2
 module. For Mindray SpO
2
 
module, PI value can be displayed under the PR value in larger characters if [PI Zoom] 
is enabled.   
(5)  Pulse rate (derived from pleth wave): detected pulsations per minute. 
(5) 
(3) 
(2)
(4) 
(1)