Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep. Each apnea episode lasts long enough so that one or more breaths are missed, and such episodes occur repeatedly throughout sleep. An apnea episode is typically a minimum 10 second interval between breaths, with either a neurological arousal, a blood oxygen desaturation of 3-4% or greater, or both arousal and desaturation.
An individual with sleep apnea is rarely aware of having difficulty breathing or having sleep apnea even upon awakening. Symptoms may be present for years without identification, during which time the sufferer may become conditioned to the daytime sleepiness and fatigue associated with significant levels of sleep disturbance.
A key medical device to help diagnose and monitor sleep apnea is the Landon Medical Sleep Apnea Unit Wrist Pulse Oximeter PC-68B. A pulse oximeter is a small, hand-held medical device that measures the oxygen saturation of a patient's blood (SpO2) as well a patient's heart rate. As opposed to measuring oxygen saturation through an invasive procedure such as a blood sample, a pulse oximeter is used as a painless and non-invasive medical instrument. Because of their ability to accurately measure the desaturation levels of oxygen in the blood, a pulse oximeter is the preferred medical device for diagnosing and monitoring sleep apnea.
The FDA approved Sleep Unit Pulse Oximeter PC-68B provides continuous measurement of oxygen saturation of arterial hemoglobin while the patient sleeps. It monitors SpO2 (percentage of oxygen saturation in the blood) and pulse rate with accuracy and ease. The PC-68B features a multi-color OLED display along with Perfusion Index, Plethysmograph capabilities, 72 hour data storage and data management software for storage onto computers.The PC-68B is widely used in sleep apnea centers for monitoring sleep apnea. The sleep apnea patient simply wakes up and takes the pulse oximeter to their physician. Their physician is able to download data collected by the oximeter during sleep into their computer system and can then diagnose the sleep apnea.
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