Under careful watch, UCSF researchers attach a variety of pulse oximeters to study participants’ fingers, then lower their oxygen levels to a point where the devices should signal a problem.

Pulse oximeters came along in the 1980s as an easy and painless alternative. The device shines a light through the fingertip, seeking out oxygen-rich blood.

Among individuals with darker skin tones, pulse oximeters often overestimated their oxygen saturation levels, according to a systematic review published in British Journal of Anaesthesia.“This ...

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared Masimo MightySat ® Medical, an over-the-counter (OTC) medical fingertip pulse oximeter. The pulse oximeter is intended for spot-checking of ...

In today’s Checkup, let’s look at the problem with pulse oximeters—why they are biased and what technological fixes might be possible. To understand the problem, you first have to understand ...

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.

Compared to white patients, pulse oximeters overestimated blood oxygen levels by an average of 1.7% in Asian patients, 1.2% in Black patients and 1.1% in Hispanic patients, a 2022 JAMA Internal ...