When Left Untreated, Lung Disease Can Result In Or Contribute To These Serious Health Problems:

  • Elevated Blood Pressure - Risk of Stroke
  • Heart failure
  • Shortness of Breath
  • Damage to vital organs

4ᵀᴴ leading cause of death

Lung disease in the United States

350000

Americans who die each year from lung disease

$50 Billion

Annual costs to treat lung disease in the U.S.

How do I know if I have lung disease?

The most common signs and symptoms of lung disease include:

  • Shortness of breath, especially during physical activities
  • Wheezing
  • Chest tightness
  • A chronic cough that may produce mucus (sputum) that may be clear, white, yellow or greenish
  • Frequent respiratory infections
  • Lack of energy
  • Unintended weight loss (in later stages)
  • Swelling in ankles, feet or legs

How do you test for hypoxemia?

The pulse oximeter, or Pulse Ox, is an electronic device that measures the saturation of oxygen carried in your red blood cells. Your doctor will usually check your oxygen levels during an in-office visit. This is a quick and simple “snapshot” of your oxygen saturation at that point in time, but many times your oxygen levels will drop during sleep and can stay below normal levels for longer periods of time. To evaluate this, your doctor may order an overnight pulse oximetry test from VirtuOx.

What to Expect?

Upon receiving your doctor’s prescription for an overnight pulse oximetry test, you will be contacted either by VirtuOx or your local Durable Medical Equipment (DME) supplier. VirtuOx will either mail you a pulse oximeter or the DME supplier will deliver one to your home.


Before bedtime, you will place the pulse oximeter probe on your finger. The pulse oximeter uses a cold light source that shines a light through the fingertip, making the tip appear to be red. By analyzing the light from the light source that passes through the finger, the device can determine the percentage of oxygen in the red blood cell.

Once the test is complete, your oxygen readings will be transmitted to the VirtuOx cloud servers, where a report is generated and sent to your doctor for review.

How do you treat hypoxemia?

Since hypoxemia involves low blood oxygen levels, treatment aims to try to raise blood oxygen levels back to normal. Oxygen therapy can be utilized to treat hypoxemia.

Other treatments may include:

  • Smoking cessation
  • Medications
  • Non-invasive ventilation therapy
  • Surgery

Who is VirtuOx?

VirtuOx is a Joint Commission approved, Medicare certified, Independent Diagnostic Testing Facility (IDTF) that performs over 40,000+ new diagnostic tests each month in the patient’s home that consists of:

  • Overnight Pulse Oximetry (POX)
  • Home Sleep Testing (HST)
  • Insomnia Testing (EEG)
  • Mobile Cardiac Telemetry (MCT)

24/7 Patient Support: 1-877-897-0063

VirtuOx does not deliver therapy or provide life support. If you are having a medical emergency, dial 9-1-1.

Click here for VPOD Ultra instructions

Click here for VPOD Ultra video instruction

Click here for NightOwl instructions

FAQ

Patient instructions should have been provided with the testing kit mailed to you by VirtuOx. If you cannot locate them, please click here to be directed to a list of all testing devices and their instructions.
No, you do not need to contact us prior to testing.
The device screen will auto-dim. Gently press the on/off button to display the screen.
Simply remove the finger sensor and then put it back on when you are finished and return to bed.
Once you complete the test, results are sent to a physician sleep specialist to interpret the results and make recommendations for your ordering physician, who will then schedule a follow-up appointment with you to review.
Please contact your ordering prescriber for your results approximately 7 days following your test.