Measuring percent oxygen saturation of hemoglobin, percent carboxyhemoglobin and methemoglobin, and concentrations of total hemoglobin and oxygen in blood of man, dog, and baboon.

We used an automated four-wavelength spectrometer to measure the concentration of total hemoglobin, percent oxyhemoglobin, carboxyhemoglobin, and methemoglobin, and concentration of oxygen bound to hemoglobin in the blood of humans, dogs, and baboons under clinical and various experimental conditions. Measurements of total hemoglobin and methemoglobin with this simple method were comparable to those with standard spectrometric procedures. Carboxyhemoglobin measurements were comparable to those made with gas chromatography, and measurements of oxygen content were comparable to those made with the galvanic cell method. The new instrument is as accurate as the comparison methods used to evaluate it in all parameters, is reliable, and measurements take only 63 s per sample. In addition, it requires minimal operator training, infrequent need for calibration, and no sample preparation.