A patient is about to undergo a complex surgery. He is laid on a white operating table, covered with a sheet, and the medical team begins to prep the incision site while getting ready for anesthesia—he can see and hear everything, quietly observing the preparations. But when they clip an earring onto his ear, he is taken aback and asks:
— What’s that for?
— That’s the surgical assistant, they reply. — After the operation, when we have more time, we’ll explain everything to you…
It turns out that during surgery, it’s crucial to constantly monitor the oxygen levels in the patient’s blood to keep track of how the heart is doing. It’s difficult for the surgeon to manage this alone. That’s where the oximeter comes in—a device that includes the earring as one of its components.
Inside the earring is a selenium photoelement and a tiny light bulb that continuously shines through the earlobe. The more oxygen in the blood, the brighter the earlobe appears, and the photoelement lights up more intensely. If the heart starts to struggle, the blood darkens, the photoelement detects the change in light, and activates a mechanism that regulates the oxygen supply to the blood.
As long as the earring is on the ear, the patient is safe from the threat of oxygen deprivation during surgery.
