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Measurement of oxygen concentration may be achieved using a special cell covered with an oxygen permeable membrane (usually PTFE - Teflon). A tiny platinum cathode beneath the membrane is maintained at approximately 0.6 V with respect to a reference electrode of silver-silver chloride to select the oxygen, and the current produced is linearly proportional to the oxygen partial pressure. Such devices may be used to measure oxygen concentration in gases for monitoring during anaesthetic and oxygen therapy procedures or they may be used for determining oxygen tension in blood samples, blood within the body or through the skin.
The electrodes are relatively slow acting and do not last indefinitely. The cell is sometimes known as the Clark electrode.
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