Abstract
Chronic respiratory diseases have been on the rise, especially due to COVID-19, extreme air pollution, and other external circumstances. Millions of people around the world suffer from progressive lung diseases and require supplemental oxygen therapy to maintain blood oxygen (SpO2) levels above 90% to prevent hypoxic episodes that can lead to further organ damage. Today, these chronic episodes are more prevalent in aging populations suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD). Existing SpO2 measurement equipment, designed to assist with treating COPD at home, are suboptimal as they cannot measure SpO2 levels continuously, meaning supplemental oxygen devices are unable to adjust oxygen flow rates to the patient’s needs. These discrepancies can result in hypoxic episodes of blood oxygen levels below 90%. Following this need, our team demonstrates preliminary results of the novel placement of a SpO2 sensor in the nasal septum to allow for comfortable and sustained SpO2 measurement. This will improve the experience of home-respiratory care with continuously obtained data from a novel location.
Highlights
Long term oxygen therapy (LTOT) is prescribed as care for over 1.5 million progressive lung disease patients in the United States [1]
Utilizing the sensor worn at the nose, data from near infrared (NIR) and red spectrums was collected via the microcontroller
With the data received from this system, the prototype can be modified into a clip that is continuously and comfortably placed at the nasal septum of elderly populations with respiratory illnesses
Summary
Long term oxygen therapy (LTOT) is prescribed as care for over 1.5 million progressive lung disease patients in the United States [1]. COPD has an incidence of 5% and is the 4th leading cause of death in the United States [2,3] It causes chronic hypoxic states, which occur when SpO2 levels fall below 90% to result in low blood oxygen circulation. COPD patients using supplemental oxygen must consistently maintain their SpO2 level above 90% to prevent instances of hypoxia in order to reduce the severity of COPD symptoms and complications from sustained hypoxic episodes. These episodes arise during daily activities, most likely to occur during sleep and physical exertion, and they must be addressed immediately through the increase in oxygen flow rate to preserve health [4]
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