Pulse Oximeter Survives Earthquake

Earthquakes are not a norm here on the east coast of the United States. Even a relatively small earthquake can cause quite a disruption. On August 23, 2011, Mineral, Virginia experienced a 5.8 magnitude earthquake that was felt throughout the east coast. The Washington D.C., metro area being less than 90 miles away, felt the quake as well. Most buildings in the D.C. area were evacuated since corporations and agencies were not sure how well the buildings would hold up structurally. The east coast is not designed to withstand seismic activity. As the quake occurred, most people in D.C. did not think it was an earthquake at first. Their initial response was that it was a terrorist attack, which caused some panic in some areas. The same effect occurred in New York City as well, where many buildings were evacuated. There was some damage that was reported at various locations in D.C., with the National Cathedral as one of them. Most of the damage that occurred was the result of things falling or tipping over, and some brick walls that collapsed.

A local medical supply store in Virginia, who specializes in supplying pulse oximetry equipment, was unfortunate enough to be one of the few places to have damage. A pulse oximeter, also known as a pulse ox, is a medical device used to measure blood oxygen saturation and pulse rate of an individual. The local medical supply store owner reported that his shelves of over five hundred oximeters tipped over with the shelves tumbling down upon them. Luckily, almost all of the pulse oximeters were not damaged. A new finger pulse oximeter is built to be small and compact, but also sturdy. Their sturdiness was proven yesterday. A pulse oximeter, which is smaller than most cell phones, took a brunt hit from metal shelving and survived. The medical store owner stated that he will not sell a damaged oximeter to any customers, but now is even more confident in his products. He said that he will tell him customers that a pulse oximeter he sells survived an earthquake.

The pulse oximeter became very popular recently in the past ten years or so. Before that it was a medical device more likely found in a clinical setting such as your doctor's office. Now it is just as common to find a pulse oximeter at home just like a blood pressure monitor or a blood glucose meter.

For high quality, low-cost pulse oximeter and oximeter models, visit us at http://www.pulseoximetersplus.com/.

View the original article here