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The world is watching in horror the events that are undertaking in Japan. A magnitude 9.0, earthquake struck the region, which then triggered a tsunami that attacked the eastern shore of the country. Thousands of people have already been confirmed, but thousands are still missing. Japan is no stranger to earthquakes, but one of this magnitude is the strongest ever recorded in the recorded history of the nation. The unfortunate events also triggered a nuclear emergency, which has turned out to be a third blow to the people of Japan. The tidal wave from the tsunami destroyed the diesel generators of costal nuclear power plants. These generators were critical to cool down reactors in the event the power to the plant was lost. Since the reactors cannot be cooled efficiently, a nuclear meltdown could be the result. As always, the people of the world are not standing by and just watching. Many nations of the world responded quickly by offering help in all forms. They offered food, supplies, money, and even knowledge.The United States was first in line to offer its help. One device that people might not think about first during a disaster, a pulse oximeter. A pulse oximeter, also known as a pulse ox by some medical professionals, is a medical device used to measure the blood oxygen saturation and pulse rate of an individual. Why is this important? In the recent events in Japan, the air people are breathing can be dangerous since it is full of dirt and debris. For this reason, it is important to constantly check how efficient the lungs are working, and this is done with the use of a pulse oximeter. The Japanese government has handed out thousands of finger pulse oximeters to its community centers to be handed out amongst survivors. On site doctors are also using a pulse oximeter on patients for both oxygen saturation and their pulse rates. A finger pulse oximeter runs on standard batteries, which makes it easier to all over the world for replacement.
