Reference values for pulse oximetry recordings in healthy term neonates during their first 5 days of life for 7 different averaging times and three SpO2 thresholds.

The basic values are based on a clinical study where an averaging time of 2–4 s has been used for desaturations with an arbitrary minimal duration. When applying our formula the reference values for 6 other averaging times could be calculated (SIQ: signal quality indicator; PW: pulse waveform; SpO2: pulse oximeter saturation; T (sec): Averaging time in seconds.