STAT

FDA-funded study of pulse oximeter accuracy yields surprising and confusing results

A long-awaited study commissioned by the FDA has muddied the path forward on how to reduce racial bias in pulse oximeter ...
CBS News

FDA's promised guidelines on pulse oximeters unlikely to end decades of racial bias

Oakland, California — The patient was in his 60s, an African American man with emphysema. The oximeter placed on his fingertip registered well above the 88% blood oxygen saturation level that signals ...
Health.com

Pulse Oximeter: Uses and When To Monitor at Home

A pulse oximeter measures blood oxygen levels at home and in healthcare settings. Abnormally low readings on a pulse oximeter might require medical care, especially if they are below 92%. Skin color ...
Consumer Reports

Pulse Oximeters Don't Work as Well for People With Dark Skin. Scientists Are Racing to Fix Them.

Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, Kimani Toussant’s wife, an epidemiologist, brought him an article about how pulse oximeters appeared to be less accurate in people with darker skin. The small ...
NPR

COVID-19 made pulse oximeters ubiquitous. Engineers are fixing their racial bias

Listen to Short Wave on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. During the COVID-19 pandemic, one measurement became more important than almost any other — blood oxygen saturation. It was the one ...
CNN

People with darker skin are 32% more likely to have pulse oximeter readings overestimate oxygen levels, report says

Scientists have long known that pulse oximeters are less accurate when used for people with dark skin tones – and now, a new report offers some insight into just how much more inaccurate these ...
CNN

FDA panel recommends more diversity in pulse oximeter trials

The longstanding problem of pulse oximeters providing less-accurate readings for people with dark skin tones got another look Friday from a panel of experts for the US Food and Drug Administration.