Accuracy of wrist worn pulse oximetry in Pulmonary Hypertension
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Accuracy of wrist-worn pulse oximeter SpO2 measurements in patients diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension
IRAS ID
345684
Contact name
Martin Johnson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
NHS National Waiting Times Centre
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 7 days
Research summary
Many commercial smartwatches now include technology to function as a wrist-worn pulse oximeter i.e the ability to measure blood oxygen levels when measured using a device such as a watch around the wrist. These have been shown to be accurate and reliable in measuring blood oxygen levels when compared to standard pulse oximeters (finger probes used to check oxygen levels). However, the gold standard would be to check a comparison between the measurements obtained from the watch and those from blood taken directly from an artery. This has not been researched in patients with pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the lungs), when people are exercising, or in conditions similar to that of being in an airplane.
Patients with pulmonary hypertension often have low blood oxygen levels which usually drop further when exercising or on an airplane where the air they are breathing has less oxygen in it. There are possible benefits to being able to monitor blood oxygen levels with a wrist-worn pulse oximeter, such as identifying patients early who are becoming more unwell and may require hospital admission and detecting signifcant drops in oxygen levels during air travel.
This study will aim to check how accurate a wrist-worn pulse oximeter is in measuring blood oxygen levels compared to blood samples from an artery when a patient with pulmonary hypertension is relaxed and sitting down, after they have walked for six minutes, and when they are breathing oxygen levels similar to those on an airplane. This will require one study visit to hospital and an arterial line (plastic tube inserted into the artery) inserted to make it easier to check repeat blood samples. The study does not require any external funding and patients will be recruited from those under the care of the Scottish Pulmonary Vascular Unit.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 4
REC reference
25/WS/0018
Date of REC Opinion
14 Apr 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion