Francisco Miguel-Tobal

Transmittance photoplethysmography and pulse oximetry with near infrared laser diodes

Photoplethysmography and pulse oximetry are widely used techniques for noninvasive monitoring of heart rate and peripheral oxygen saturation. Over the last years we have been working onto the application of near infrared range wavelengths to replace those of the classical pulse oximeters. The development of laser diodes based sensors, processing algorithms, a calibration procedure, and the comparison with a commercial pulse oximeter, have been followed by a set of experimental studies. The results exposed here demonstrate the applicability of transmittance photoplethysmography and pulse oximetry using laser diodes emitting at specific wavelengths for a wide range of situations.

Oxygen saturation measurements in athletes attaining maximal exertion conditions

Maximal effort tests are used to check the fitness of athletes and to assess their status of health. Measurements performed during the test are also useful to understand athlete physiology and to optimise the training protocols. One of the interesting measurements that can be performed is the oxygen saturation and desaturation in blood along with cardiac rate. The task is complicated by the fact that standard instrumentation (oximeters) are affected by movement artefact, and in the case of this kind of tests movements can be so strong and wide that the measurements is invalidated. In this paper, a novel algorithm is proposed which achieve meaningful measurements even in presence of very strong movement artefact.