ZOLL Propaq M Rev B - Manual (Page 106)

C HAPTER 9 M ONITORING P ULSE O XIMETRY (S P O2)
9-10 www.zoll.com 9650-0803-01 Rev. B
Functional Testers and Patient Simulators
Some models of commercially available bench top functional testers and patient simulators can
be used to verify the proper functionality of Nellcor pulse oximeter sensors, cables and
monitors. See the individual testing device's operator's manual for the procedures specific to the
model of tester that you are using.
While such devices may be useful for verifying that the pulse oximeter sensor, cable, and
monitor are functional, they are incapable of providing the data required to properly evaluate
the accuracy of a system's SpO
2
measurements.
Fully evaluating the accuracy of the SpO
2
measurements requires, at a minimum,
accommodating the wavelength characteristics of the sensor and reproducing the complex
optical interaction of the sensor and the patient's tissue. These capabilities are beyond the scope
of known bench top testers, including known devices which claim to measure sensor LED
wavelength.
SpO
2
measurement accuracy can only be evaluated in vivo by comparing pulse oximeter
readings with values traceable to SpO
2
measurements obtained from simultaneously sampled
arterial blood using a laboratory CO-oximeter.
Many functional testers and patient simulators have been designed to interface with the pulse
oximeter's expected calibration curves and may be suitable for use with Nellcor monitors and/
or sensors. Not all such devices, however, are adapted for use with the Nellcor OxiMax
TM
digital calibration system. While this will not affect use of the simulator for verifying system
functionality, displayed SpO
2
measurement values may differ from the setting of the test
device.
For a properly functioning monitor, this difference will be reproducible over time and from
monitor to monitor within the performance specifications of the test device.