A wearable reflectance pulse oximeter for remote physiological monitoring.

To save life, casualty care requires that trauma injuries are accurately and expeditiously assessed in the field. This paper describes the initial bench testing of a wireless wearable pulse oximeter developed based on a small forehead mounted sensor. The battery operated device employs a lightweight optical reflectance sensor and incorporates an annular photodetector to reduce power consumption. The system also has short range wireless communication capabilities to transfer arterial oxygen saturation (SpO(2)), heart rate (HR), body acceleration, and posture information to a PDA. It has the potential for use in combat casualty care, such as for remote triage, and by first responders, such as firefighters.