The Oxygen Sensor – Analyzing the Oxygen Proportions in Gas or Liquid

Oxygen or O2 is an element present everywhere: in our body (being carried by the blood), in the water we drink, the food we eat, in the surrounding atmosphere and not only. Without it, life as we know it could not exist. Nowadays, because of the major changes that happen everywhere – in our body as well as in our environment – the necessity to measure the oxygen levels has increased considerably. If until recently people didn’t have to think about oxygen measurements in order to be healthy and happy, today things have changed. In order to be able to cope with the everchanging technological reality which is affecting our planet so much, we have to be armed with knowledge and awareness.

For this purpose, several technological were developed.

Oximetry is one of them. It is a non-invasive transcutaneous way of measuring the oxygen levels in our blood by using a device named blood oxygen monitor or pulse oximeter. There are many kinds of oxygen monitors available: hospital-rated tabletop models are being used mainly in health-care facilities, while portable handheld, wrist or finger units are available for home use.

The oxygen deficiency monitor is a device that calculates the levels of oxygen in the ambient air. It is especially useful for laboratories, industrial facilities and other confined spaces where there is an increased risk of dangerous gas leakages.

The oxygen sensor is a special device that measures the proportion of oxygen or O2 in a certain gas or liquid. Though it has numerous applications, it is used mostly in the automotive field, for automobiles and other types of vehicles. The oxygen sensors for cars determine the concentration of oxygen in the internal combustion engines.

A similar technology is used by divers to calculate the oxygen pressure in the breathing gas they use under water. Oxygen sensors can be also used in an aquarium or other liquid environments to analyze the oxygen concentration.

Oxygen sensors can also have scientific purposes.  Researchers use them to measure the production of oxygen in an industrial facility or the respiration of a patient in emergency care units in hospitals.

The oxygen sensor can also be a part of a more complex device called an oxygen analyzer. These gas analyzers have many medical applications, being used in anesthesia monitors, in oxygen concentrators and respirators. A medical oxygen analyzer can also calculate the amount of oxygen exhaled by a patient. This procedure helps assessing the functioning of the lungs, especially during oxygen therapy.

Hand held oxygen analyzers are also employed in the alimentary industry for measuring the amount of oxygen in food packages. This procedure ensures the quality and safety of certain products.

While browsing the online market, you can also encounter the term oxygen detector. It is another word used for describing the oxygen measuring technology.

The calculations are made by employing various methods -  for example electrochemical (galvanic), zirconia, ultrasonic, infrared or laser technologies.

An oxygen monitor, in all its available varieties, can tremendously help those people who work in dangerous environments where there is an increased risk of oxygen deficiency.