Caption

Pulse oximeter readings in COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Close-up of a pulse oximeter on the finger of an 81-year-old male patient with COPD. COPD is caused by noxious particles, commonly from tobacco smoking, which trigger an abnormal inflammatory response in the lung, resulting in difficulty in breathing. A pulse oximeter measures the pulse rate and oxygen concentration of the blood. The levels shown here are 82 percent SpO2 (peripheral oxygen saturation) and a pulse rate (PR) of 105 beats per minute (bpm). For most adults a normal oxygen saturation is between 96 and 99 percent, and a healthy resting heart rate is 60-100 beats per minute (bpm).