Recommendations for pulse oxymeter

[Pinecone]

I have the Wellvue from Amazon

[Rick Junkin]

13 hours ago, Schllc said:

the only grievance is the battery life. It’s well under two hours and it doesn’t function when it’s plugged in for charging. 

The Wellue ring from my previous post, and that a few other folks have mentioned, has a battery life exceeding 8 hours. I wear it overnight occasionally to assess the efficacy of my CPAP (obstructive sleep apnea). My thumb is a little too big so I wear it on my pinky finger with good results. 

Cheers,
Junkman

[Schllc]

3 hours ago, Fly Boomer said:

I think there are a couple of those.  Do you recall the brand of the one your have?

this is the one i have.

it claims 16 hours of battery life but i have not found this to be the case with the one i have.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08VW3VQKW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Fly Boomer]

1 hour ago, Schllc said:

this is the one i have.

it claims 16 hours of battery life but i have not found this to be the case with the one i have.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08VW3VQKW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That's the Wellue Ring, and seems to be a favorite (at least in this topic).

[Schllc]

1 hour ago, Fly Boomer said:

That's the Wellue Ring, and seems to be a favorite (at least in this topic).

yes, its comfortable and at least as accurate as the two others i have that you have to put your finger in.  it can be difficult to read with sunglasses.  (i don't need readers yet)

[PeteMc]

3 hours ago, Schllc said:

it claims 16 hours of battery life but i have not found this to be the case with the one i have.

I wonder if you (we pilots) check more frequently than it does if left to it's own programing.  That could cause the battery to run down a lot quicker.

 

[kortopates]

I wonder if you (we pilots) check more frequently than it does if left to it's own programing.  That could cause the battery to run down a lot quicker.
 

Really not a concern, most wearable options. including the Wellue, were developed for sleep apnea folks that need to wear them all night and be woken by their alarm if O2 falls below a threshold. They are continuously monitoring with enough battery power to outlast a long day of flying if not more than one. Really a good match for a solo turbo pilot and could have saved a number of pilot’s lives if they were available and used.


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[dkkim73]

Interim PIREP on the Wellue pulse oximeter ring (I can't find the original thread but someone asked me to report back once I had some time with it): 

I have used this on several flights, so far only up to 17,000MSL, and many nights of sleep. Cross-checked intermittently with a clip-on Walgreen's pulse oximeter. I have *not* yet "borrowed" an actual hospital unit to cross-check... I am a bit unclear on why there would be an accuracy difference, as IIUC the sat value is based on differential absorption at two difference wavelengths (oxy and deoxy hemoglobin). However, I've seen differences in units. 

So far, it seems pretty concordant, +/- 2-3%. The pick-up seems very reliable. It is responsive to the button and to the (Android) app, not glitchy from a software standpoint at all. The rubber ring part seems flimsy but hasn't given any problems yet. Battery life is at least two nights without re-charge so far. It will turn off when it drains all the way (for me after 2+ nights with no charge), so if you sleep with it I would charge in the AM or at least before flight to be safe. 

A major selling point is the easily-programmable vibrating alert. E.g. flying above 12K with my daughter, I set a haptic alert at 91% SaO2 (resting is 96% at my home altitude). Easy to change the alert from a mobile device. 

In general, I've noticed I under-breath at moderate altitude, which is expected (lower hypercarbic drive). This is very helpful to remind me to breath deep, regularly, and pressure-breath (pursed lips) if I'm de-satting or need to catch up and be more on top of things. 

Insights on sleep and apnea/desats are also valuable. It seems a very well-built product and a quite reasonable purchase for the money (in aviation especially!)

David

[LANCECASPER]

On 7/3/2024 at 9:43 PM, dkkim73 said:

Interim PIREP on the Wellue pulse oximeter ring (I can't find the original thread but someone asked me to report back once I had some time with it): 

 

[ArtVandelay]

Interim PIREP on the Wellue pulse oximeter ring (I can't find the original thread but someone asked me to report back once I had some time with it): 
I have used this on several flights, so far only up to 17,000MSL, and many nights of sleep. Cross-checked intermittently with a clip-on Walgreen's pulse oximeter. I have *not* yet "borrowed" an actual hospital unit to cross-check... I am a bit unclear on why there would be an accuracy difference, as IIUC the sat value is based on differential absorption at two difference wavelengths (oxy and deoxy hemoglobin). However, I've seen differences in units. 
So far, it seems pretty concordant, +/- 2-3%. The pick-up seems very reliable. It is responsive to the button and to the (Android) app, not glitchy from a software standpoint at all. The rubber ring part seems flimsy but hasn't given any problems yet. Battery life is at least two nights without re-charge so far. It will turn off when it drains all the way (for me after 2+ nights with no charge), so if you sleep with it I would charge in the AM or at least before flight to be safe. 
A major selling point is the easily-programmable vibrating alert. E.g. flying above 12K with my daughter, I set a haptic alert at 91% SaO2 (resting is 96% at my home altitude). Easy to change the alert from a mobile device. 
In general, I've noticed I under-breath at moderate altitude, which is expected (lower hypercarbic drive). This is very helpful to remind me to breath deep, regularly, and pressure-breath (pursed lips) if I'm de-satting or need to catch up and be more on top of things. 
Insights on sleep and apnea/desats are also valuable. It seems a very well-built product and a quite reasonable purchase for the money (in aviation especially!)
David

Wow, that’s bulky, I expected something more like the Oura.

[Danb]

I have a nonin two cheapies from Walgreens and my Apple Watch also has a meter. The issue is keeping the batteries alive..

[dkkim73]

28 minutes ago, ArtVandelay said:

Wow, that’s bulky, I expected something more like the Oura.

It doesn't bother or get in the way, in my experience. I suppose if I were a Blackjack dealer or a left-handed gunfighter it might be an issue, but it doesn't tend to snag when I'm in the airplane. Or at night. 

That Oura is pretty slick. Very elegant design. Does it have good alerting features? The Wellue has a pretty noticable haptic alert which is useful for me flying solo pilot (not dependant upon the app to alert, only to program configuration). I'm also a little leery of cloud biometric service offerings, but YMMV. The Oura looks like a subscription "wellness offering" whereas the Wellue's use of the cloud platform is optional. 

Please let us know how the Oura works for flying, if you go that route. 
David