5 Best Masimo Alternatives for Patient Respiratory Monitoring
A guide to the top non-invasive monitoring solutions for hospitals, clinics, and procedural sedation environments.
Written by Hustlin from public information. Makani Science hasn’t joined Hustlin.
Masimo has long been a standard in patient monitoring, particularly for pulse oximetry and acoustic respiratory monitoring. However, as healthcare shifts toward wireless, less obtrusive solutions, many providers are looking for alternatives that offer better patient comfort and more detailed respiratory data without the bulk of traditional bedside monitors.
First, what is Masimo?
Best for: Large-scale hospital systems and intensive care units requiring integrated bedside monitoring.
Strengths
- Industry-standard Signal Extraction Technology (SET) for pulse oximetry
- Robust acoustic respiratory monitoring for hospital settings
- Extensive ecosystem of integrated bedside monitors
Where it falls short
- High cost of proprietary sensors and hardware
- Acoustic sensors can be sensitive to ambient noise
- Wired configurations can limit patient mobility
The top alternatives
- #1Top pick
Makani Science: The First Wireless Patch for Continuous Breathing Monitoring
Makani Science offers a specialized alternative to traditional respiratory monitoring by using a wireless patch. Unlike acoustic or pulse-oximetry based methods, Makani focuses on capturing unique breathing waveforms. This system is designed to improve safety for patients undergoing sedation and provides a more comfortable, cable-free experience for the patient while delivering high-resolution data to the clinician.
- Wireless, wearable patch form factor for maximum patient mobility
- Captures unique breathing waveforms rather than just numerical rates
- Designed specifically for procedural sedation and everyday environments
- Machine learning integration to predict respiratory complications
- Simplified setup compared to complex bedside consoles
- #2Alternative
Medtronic (Nellcor)
Medtronic’s Nellcor pulse oximetry technology is the primary global competitor to Masimo SET, offering high accuracy in challenging conditions like low perfusion.
Best for: Standardized pulse oximetry across diverse clinical departments.
- #3Alternative
Philips Healthcare (IntelliVue)
Philips provides comprehensive patient monitoring systems that integrate respiratory, cardiac, and neurological data into a single enterprise platform.
Best for: Large hospitals needing full-system integration and electronic health record connectivity.
- #4Alternative
Nonin Medical
Nonin specializes in portable and durable pulse oximetry and capnography, often used in EMS and outpatient settings.
Best for: Portable, rugged monitoring outside of a traditional hospital room.
Side-by-side comparison
| Category | Makani Science | Masimo | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Form Factor | Wireless Wearable Patch | Wired Sensors / Bedside Monitor | Stronger |
| Respiratory Data | Continuous Waveforms | Acoustic Rate / Plethysmograph | Stronger |
| Patient Mobility | High (Cable-free) | Limited (Wired) | Stronger |
| Clinical Footprint | Minimal (Mobile App/Tablet) | Large (Bedside Console) | Stronger |
| Market Presence | Early Stage / Focused | Global / Established | Stronger |
| Motion Tolerance | High (Patch-based) | High (SET Technology) | Neck-and-neck |
Frequently asked questions
Is Makani Science FDA cleared?
Makani Science is currently working toward FDA clearance for its beachhead market, with expected clearance within the next year.
How does Makani differ from Masimo's acoustic monitoring?
While Masimo uses sound to estimate breathing rates, Makani uses a wireless patch to capture physical breathing waveforms, which provides more detailed data on respiratory patterns.
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