Do pulse oximeters require regular calibrations while in clinical use?

Most pulse oximeters do not need to be calibrated by the user before they will work properly. During device development, the microprocessors of pulse oximeters are calibrated using reference SaO2 measurement data that are compiled from healthy volunteers. Volunteers are typically exposed to different levels of inspired oxygen to yield SaO2 ranging from around 75 to 100%. 

There are devices such as the Fluke ProSim 8 that are designed to check if select manufacturers’ oximeters are functioning, but are not designed to validate accuracy.

References: Lifebox Pulse Oximetry Learning Module

Keywords: calibration