Name/TitleEquipment: Oscar Combined Pulse Oximeter and Capnograph

About this objectPortable metal frame which has been painted green with computerised monitor on the top shelf.

By the later half of the 1980s, considerable advances in electronics had resulted in the development of equipment to measure many physiological parameters in real time at the bedside. Thus it became possible to measure, beat by beat, the oxygen saturation of the blood as well as the CO2 content of patient's expired air. Knowing both of these parameters on a continuous basis increased considerably the anaethatist's ability to determine how his anaesthetic and indeed the surgery were affecting the patient. Changes in management previously based on clinical judgement could now be confirmed or reinforced by a better understanding of the patient's physiology. This particular monitor was purchased by the anaesthetic department at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in October 1988.

Manufactured by Datex-Ohmeda

Date Made1988

Place MadeMelbourne, Australia

Medium and MaterialsMetal, plastic, electrical components

MeasurementsL 81cm x W 43cm x D 49cm

CollectionThe Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Object TypeEquipment

Object numberAR#9000