Demand of pulse oximeters on the rise
Kolkata: Pulse oximeter demand has significantly increased as doctors and clinics are mandatorily using the it before treating patients in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.
"Pulse oximeter shows the oxygen saturation level. If a person is suffering from COVID-19 then his/her oxygen saturation level is likely to go down. Since March, we are mandatorily checking the oxygen saturation level of the patients and then treating patients at hospitals as well as personal clinics," said Dr Nayab Siddique, a Kolkata based dentist.
He said that if the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply, which happens in the case of pneumonia caused by COVID-19, it is immediately detected by the device.
"For screening and to detect any respiratory problems of patients, we are using pulse oximeters," said Dr Mohd Rizwan of Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital.
Pulse oximeter, a small clip-like device fixed on a finger, passes small beams of light through the blood in the finger which measures the level of oxygen. Ideally, the device reading should be in the range of 95 per cent to 99 per cent.
"The demand for the pulse oximeter has grown exponentially in the city. The device is not only being purchased by the doctors or hospitals but also by the relatives of the COVID patients and their family members," said K L Mittal, founder and executive chairman of SastaSundar.com (a digital platform for selling health care products).
He reiterated that the sale of pulse
oximeter increased by 500 per cent from June with the increase of COVID-19 active cases in the state.
"We sold 500 pulse oximeters in May. The next month in June we sold 3,000 pulse oximeters. There is a short supply of pulse oximeters in the surgical retail stores," pointed out Mittal.
Depending upon the quality, the cost of pulse oximeters ranges between Rs 1,500 and Rs 5,000.