Masimo SET vs. conventional pulse oximetry (1990s)
Through the 1990s, conventional pulse oximeters gave unreliable readings during patient motion and low blood flow, a serious problem in operating rooms and ICUs. Masimo founder Joe Kiani built signal extraction technology (SET) to solve motion artifact, and the company battled Nellcor for hospital market share.
Masimo SET proved more accurate in motion and low-perfusion conditions and won adoption across hospital monitoring.
SET established Masimo's signal-processing credibility, which smartSET now extends with AI pattern recognition for event detection.
smartSET is the next step in the same signal-processing lineage, moving from accurate readings to detecting clinical events.
