Problems with pulse oximeters have been known for decades, but it wasn’t until the pandemic that the real dangers to Black ...
The Food and Drug Administration’s recommendations apply to pulse oximeters, which are clip-on devices used in hospitals and medical clinics to ensure patients are getting enough oxygen.
The same is the case with pulse oximeters, as it's the readings that hint at the current state of your health. Incorrect reading on the oximeter can turn out to be extremely serious, later on.
Pulse oximeters specifically intended for medical ... That’s not necessarily the case. “Some devices perform equally well regardless of skin pigment, whereas others don’t,” Lipnick said.
Pulse oximeters measure the amount of light that passes through the skin as a way to estimate how much oxygen is in a patient’s red blood cells. Melanin, which absorbs light that passes through ...
Studies have found pulse oximeters miss three times as many cases of low-oxygen levels in Black patients as in white patients. That disparity caused an outcry during the early days of the COVID ...