However, navigating the market can be difficult, as many devices look similar but differ significantly in comfort, sensor reliability, app quality, and reporting features. Even after choosing a ...

Pulse oximeter devices routinely overestimate blood oxygen levels in darker-skinned patients—a racial bias that can trigger downstream health harms for Black individuals, compounding well beyond any ...

This review synthesised existing evidence on racial disparities in pulse oximeter accuracy, quantified the degree of bias, evaluated clinical effects, highlighted implications for practice, and ...

Tiffany Kinyua is a psychology major with a minor in biology and she is a 2025-26 health care ethics intern at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. Views are her own.

Fingertip monitors known as pulse oximeters that can be used at home to detect low blood oxygen levels (hypoxaemia) give higher readings for patients with darker than lighter skin tones, finds the ...

In the EXAKT study from the U.K., the home-use pulse oximeters assessed all gave higher oxygen saturation (SpO2) readings for patients with darker skin tones than for patients with lighter skin tones.

Anil Oza is a general assignment reporter at STAT focused on the NIH and health equity. You can reach him on Signal at aniloza.16. Rather than provide clarity on how to reduce racial bias in pulse ...

Abstract: This paper involves designing and developing a low-cost, portable pulse oximeter using an Arduino Pro Mini and a set of basic electronic components. The pulse oximeter will measure the ...

Credit: Getty Images A discussion with Dr Martin J Tobin on health disparities related to pulse oximeter readings and the need to improve them to make health care more equitable. In response to ...