Development and clinical evaluation of a new sensor design for buccal pulse oximetry in horses.

This research examines the challenges associated with using conventional pulse oximetry in horses and presents the development of a new sensor design for buccal pulse oximetry, along with an experimental evaluation of its performance. The experimental results suggest the new sensor design is potentially suitable for this specific application, but further improvements and testing are required.

Objective and Methods of the Research

• The objective was twofold. Firstly, the researchers sought to develop a new sensor design to improve oximetry readings in horses. This would be specifically designed for the suiting to anatomical distinctions in horses. Secondly, they aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of this new sensor design through an experimental study.
• The researchers conducted an in vivo experiment involving thirteen anaesthetised warm-blood horses. The animals were included into a desaturation protocol where SpO and pulse frequency values were recorded. As a reference method, SaO was calculated from blood gas analysis and invasive pulse frequency measurements were also used.

Results

• The study revealed that the quality of the pulse frequency readings played a critical role in determining the quality of SpO -readings. A strong pulse signal strength yielded SpO accuracy similar to that of the original sensor.
• The pulse rate readings were found to be about twice as high as the reference value particularly at heart rates less or equal to 30 bpm. However, when these were excluded from the dataset, pulse rate accuracy appeared similar to that of the original sensor.
• The Bland-Altman plots used in the study showed limits of agreement typical of pulse oximeters.

Conclusions

• The results showed promise for the usability of the new sensor design for buccal pulse oximetry in horses. However, some areas require further improvement, particularly the accuracy of pulse frequency.
• While the new design has shown potential in experimental settings, its embodiment would require further testing under real clinical conditions.