A wireless pulse oximeter device can include a front-end circuit. The device also include a wireless communications module to communicate with a medical monitor or wireless receiver device. The device can also have a controller communicatively coupled to the front-end circuit and the wireless communication module. The controller can have one or more processors configured to receive the at least two photodiode readings, determine an AC component value and a DC component value of a first one of the at least two photodiode readings, transmit the AC component value, determine an R-value corresponding to a ratio of an optical absorption of a first wavelength of light to an optical absorption of a second wavelength of light, for a first set of photodiode readings, and transmit the R-value for the first set of photodiode readings.