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The most likely reason a pulse oximeter alarms every 15 minutes is that the NIBP (non-invasive blood pressure) cuff and the pulse oximeter probe are placed on the same limb. When both devices are used on the same limb, the NIBP cuff inflates and restricts blood flow temporarily, which can interfere with the pulse oximeter's ability to obtain accurate readings. This interference often leads to erroneous or unstable readings, prompting the device to produce alarms at regular intervals, such as every 15 minutes, to indicate the issue.

In contrast, factors like a defective probe or an incorrectly set time interval would generally lead to either persistent alarms or different types of issues unrelated to the specific situation of combined use on a limb. A leak in the NIBP cuff would contribute to inaccurate blood pressure readings rather than triggering pulse oximeter alarms specifically. Thus, using both devices on the same limb is a common clinical practice issue that leads to the described alarm behavior.