• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.27 no.5
• /
• pp.274-281
• /
• 2006

In this paper, we propose a ubiquitous $SaO_2$ monitoring system for patients using oxygen therapy. For these patients, the ability to monitor oxygen saturation ubiquitously is very important fur accurate adjustment of ventilator's flow rate to match the patient's time-varying requirements with the shortest lag time possible. We have developed a portable device to measure $SaO_2$ and transmit it to hospital in real-time or in store-and-forward mode through the integration of $Bluetooth^{TM}$ technology and the code division multiple access (CDMA) cellular network. We also developed software for doctors to receive and manage the patients' $SaO_2$ information. Performance of the developed system was evaluated as acceptable by assessing the accuracy of the measured oxygen saturation value and the stability of communication network. Test results in real clinical setting demonstrate that our system is feasible for immediate use in home oxygen therapy.