| 1850's Russian physiologist I.M. Sechenov | | | | |
| developed a vacuum blood pump which was | | | | 1942 G. Millikan and H. Sarre used local |
| laterly used for research purpose. [8] | | | | heating to arterialize capillary blood.[1,8] |
| | | | |
| 1864 Sir George Gabriel Stokes, 1st Baronet, | | | | 1942 Light reflection oximetry was developed. |
| an Irish physicist and mathematician, | | | | |
| discovered the respiratory function of | | | | 1970 Oximetry becomes clinically feasible, |
| haemoglobin. [1,2] | | | | after scientists at Hewlett-Packard developed |
| | | | commercial ear oximeter that preferentially |
| 1876 Karl von Vierordt, a German physician | | | | measured arterial saturation by heating the |
| who developed techniques and tools for the | | | | tissue to 41 Celcius degree to increase local |
| monitoring of blood circulation, used a light | | | | cutaneous blood flow. [1,4] |
| source to distinguish fully saturated blood | | | | |
| from that which is not. [1,3] | | | | 1974 Takuo Aoyagi found that arterial oxygen |
| | | | saturation could be measured by quantifying |
| 1898 English physiologist Halden brought | | | | pulsations in the light signals coming |
| forward the principle of chemical expulsion | | | | through tissue, which made heating the tissue |
| of oxygen from its complexes with | | | | unnecessary. This device was the ancester of |
| haemoglobin. J.Barcoft used this principle | | | | most modern pulse oximeters. [4] |
| for the examination of gas composition of | | | | |
| blood. [8] | | | | 1978 William New, MD, PhD invented the |
| | | | prototype for modern pulse oximetry.[6] |
| 1900 R. Vierordt demonstrated that | | | | |
| application of Hufner tourniquet caused a | | | | 1980s Oximeters became smaller in size, |
| decrease in the intensity of red light passed | | | | easier to apply, and less expensive. [1] |
| through a human hand. | | | | |
| | | | 1995 Fingertip oximeters, which are small |
| 1922 American biochemist D. van Slyke | | | | enough to put a finger in, first appeared on |
| combined the vacuum and chemical principles | | | | the market. [1] |
| of gas expulsion from blood and used them in | | | | |
| his manometric appratus.[8] | | | | 2000 U.S.A. Medicare accepts physicians' |
| | | | billing for in-office oximeter readings. [1] |
| 1932 German physiologist L. Nicolai optically | | | | |
| recorded the in vivo oxygen consumption of a | | | | References: |
| hand after circulatory occlusion in | | | | |
| Gottingen, Germany. [5] | | | | [1] Portable Oxygen: A User's Perspective, |
| | | | Viewed May 2007 |
| 1935 The first device developed by Carl | | | | |
| Matthes to noninvasively measure oxygen | | | | [2] George Gabriel Strokes, Viewed May 2007 |
| saturation in human blood by | | | | |
| transilluminating it with coloured | | | | [3] Karl von Vierordt, Viewed May 2007 |
| light,which employed an ear probe. [1,2,5] | | | | |
| | | | [4] Pulse oximetry, C Crawford Mechem, MD, |
| 1939 K.Matthews and F. Gross used photometry | | | | FACEP, Viewed May 2007 |
| in examination of the ear auricle. | | | | |
| Two-wavelength spectrophotometry was used to | | | | [5] History of blood gas analysis. VI. |
| avoid the absorption of light by surrounding | | | | Oximetry, Severinghaus JW; Astrup PB, J Clin |
| tissues. | | | | Monit 1986 Oct;2(4):270-88. |
| | | | |
| 1940's The development of pulese oximeter | | | | [6] Saving Lives One Breath At A Time, Viewed |
| intensified due to the need of pilots flying | | | | May 2007 |
| at high altitudes in lack pressurized cabins | | | | |
| during WW II. This technique saved pilots in | | | | [7] Medical Electronics Lecture, Neil |
| the war.[3,5] | | | | Townsend, Viewed May 2007 |
| | | | |
| 1941 Oximetry testing is first used to | | | | [8] The history of oximetry, B.D.Zislin and |
| identify the process of obtaining saturation | | | | A.V.Chistyakov, Biomedical Engineering, Vol. |
| readings with an pulse oximeter. [1] | | | | 40, No. 1, 2006, pp. 53-56. Translated from |
| | | | Meditsinskaya Tekhnika, Vol. 40, No. 1, 2006, |
| 1942 E.Goldie used compression of earlobe to | | | | pp. 44-47. |
| obtain "bloodless" reference. [7,8] | | | | |