Performance Evaluation of a Locally Produced Pulse Oximeter

Abstract

Most aftermarket pulse oximeters (POs) sold usually have peripheral blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) sensors with short life spans and the lack of specialized personnel to carry out the repairs result in frequent failures and replacement of the device. The study aims to solve the problems by developing a cheap, durable, easy to operate, and enhanced reflectance pulse oximeter (RPO). The testing of the device involved the SpO2 and heart rate (HR) measurements of Forty (40) healthy volunteers. From the performance evaluation, the measured data and its accuracy were satisfactory with an average accuracy and error rates of 99.7 % and 0.3 % for SpO2 while that of the HR was 97.7 % and 2.3 % respectively. Furthermore, analysis from the Bland - Altman Plot for both the SpO2 and HR showed that the locally developed PO could be used as a substitute to measure oxygen saturation and pulse rate in patients.