Pulse Oximeter Moves Out of Walter Reed

The Walter Reed Army Medical Center has been a staple for over one hundred years in the United States and the District of Columbia. Over the years, it has served many service men and woman, and it has served as a leading center for research as well. Over the past weekend, when Hurricane Irene was set to hit the east coast, the medical center had its closing ceremony. The ceremony included a large number of Walter Reed staff and military personnel, and it included a flag-lowering ceremony as well. The gloomy skies added to the sadness and made something to make the ceremony all the more memorable. Right before the closing ceremony, the last 18 patients from Walter Reed were transferred to their new location, Bethesda National Naval Medical Center, whose name will change to Walter Reed Military Medical Center.

Right before Walter Reed was determined to close; they made a large purchase of pulse oximetry products. A pulse oximeter, also known as a pulse ox, is a medical device use to measure the blood oxygen saturation and pulse rate of a patient. Walter Reed bought about five hundred of these devices ranging from a finger pulse oximeter to a hand held pulse oximeter. These devices are designed to be portable and easy to use. They run on standard triple A batteries, and are come in both a color and non color screen. Doctors at Walter Reed had discovered their usefulness years ago, when they started to use them both at the hospital and also provide them to patients who were released. These patients were not able to keep track of their oxygen levels both on the go and at home. Some military personnel even found themselves using a pulse oximeter while on tour or duty.

The new facility, Walter Reed Military Medical Center, will be run jointly by both the Army and the Navy. The location is right in the center of Maryland, near both Virginia and the District of Columbia. It is about 20 minutes from Andrew's Air force Base, and accessible by the metro system. Across from the medical center is National Institute of Health, also known as N.I.H., which will contribute to research for the new medical center. Research from centers and institutes like this have lead to various technologies that come back to serve patients. The pulse oximeter is one example of this collaboration and implementation.

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

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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/.

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