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