The Bias Built into the design of Pulse Oximeters

One of the most important devices during the coronavirus pandemic was the pulse oximeter.

Pulse oximeters, however, don’t work as well in people with darker skin, presumably due to their skin tone. There’s a risk of “occult hypoxemia,” where the device says that oxygen levels are fine but patients’ actual saturations are dangerously low. In theory, pulse oximeters shouldn’t be affected by anything other than the levels of oxygen in the blood. But research has shows that melanin in Black patients affects the transmittance. There is a need to review the existing technologies.

Recent studies have highlighted this as an ongoing problem with potentially severe consequences for Black patients and other patients of colour.

PS: I created this image for education, publications in textbooks and journals. This is how we can change the world. ~ ebereillustrate