About the Series
“Nonin Expert” is a series of interviews featuring industry experts who work with or for Nonin Medical, Inc. As the company that introduced the world’s first hand-held and fingertip pulse oximeters, Nonin Medical has a rich history of innovative thinking, industry expertise, and commitment to high-quality, noninvasive patient monitoring devices. We invite you to hear directly from the Nonin team.
Today’s Nonin Expert
Ruy Pires is Nonin’s International Regional Manager for the LATAM region based in Brazil and his focus is on Global Clinical Sales. Ruy has a rich background in both sales and clinical roles. He spent eight years in medical device sales prior to joining Nonin’s team, where he discovered his clinical experience allowed him to effectively speak to the actual use of respiratory devices in practice. Prior to that, Ruy spent nine years as a physical therapist, specializing in respiratory therapy. During his time as a clinician, Ruy worked primarily in intensive care unit (ICU) settings with respiratory patients.
Q: Why are you passionate about the respiratory field?
I love the body, how the body functions, and understanding how to help people be as healthy as possible. As someone who worked in the ICU with respiratory patients, I became quickly aware that breathing is life. The lungs are critical to the body’s ability to function. As an ICU respiratory therapist, you are essentially controlling someone else’s lungs, it’s incredibly powerful and magical. You are truly saving people’s lives every day. This solidified my interest in respiratory health care.
Q: Why is pulse oximetry important?
The oximeter plays a major role in patient diagnosis and treatment. The main role of the lung is gas exchange, and pulse oximetry is the measurement of how well the lung is doing its major job. To have a fast, noninvasive way to tell how well the lung is performing allows clinicians to appropriately decide on a treatment plan for patients.
When we see a poor SpO2 number come up – we question it. Why is that happening? Could it be incorrect? What can we do about it? However, when we see a normal SpO2 number, it is not questioned. We assume that we should be looking elsewhere for any potential problems.
This initial screening of lung functionality is often the difference between a patient receiving treatment or being sent home.
It is important to know that pulse oximetry does have limitations, as all noninvasive devices do. Having access to clinically tested, highly accurate pulse oximeters is vital in the clinical decision-making process. It is also important for clinicians to be educated in the limitations of pulse oximetry and understand how to best navigate those.
Q: When you think about the future of pulse oximetry, what stands out as important?
The continuous improvement of accuracy in pulse oximetry especially across dark skin pigmentations is aways something that can be improved, especially when thinking about the wide range of treatment diagnosis pulse oximetry measurements impact.
In addition to that, pulse oximetry can be an incredibly helpful tool in an expanded capacity. For example, an indicator of cardiovascular events in sleep is the pulse oximeter. Additionally, the ability to have accurate SpO2 information on patients remotely allows for better, more efficient patient treatment even in places where healthcare is harder to access.
Q: Why did you choose to work for Nonin?
In 2005, I was presented my master’s thesis at the American Thoracic Society (ATS). This was my first time in the United States (U.S.) and all of my classmates and colleagues said to me – you have to buy a Nonin oximeter when you are in the U.S.! The Nonin oximeters have always had huge brand recognition with respiratory therapists for their quality and accuracy. I remember coming back and showing it off, everyone wanted to use it. I felt like I had the best pulse oximeter in the hospital.
To be a salesperson, you must trust what you’re selling, and I feel incredibly confident in Nonin’s product, brand, and mission. When we say, “it’s not just a pulse oximeter,” in our brand messaging I really feel that as a clinician.
Ruy Pires is an employee of Nonin Medical. The views expressed in this piece are his own and do not necessarily reflect the experiences of all Nonin Medical product users.