A new ear oximeter for assessment of exercise-induced arterial desaturation in patients with pulmonary diseases.

Changes in arterial oxygen saturation during exercise were measured with a new eight-wavelength ear oximeter and calculated from blood gas measurements on simultaneously drawn arterial blood samples from 48 patients with pulmonary diseases. When the calculated oxygen saturation during exercise was more than 80% there change in oxygen saturation (SEE 1.0%). This non-invasive, simple and rapid method seems to be clinically useful for detecting the development of significant arterial hypoxaemia during exercise in patients with pulmonary diseases.