Pulse oximeters’ varying performance based on skin tones has been highly publicised. Pulse oximeters tend to overestimate oxygen saturation values for people with darker skin (occult hypoxemia). The study aimed to construct a test bench to assess commercially available home based pulse oximeters. A laboratory simulator was used to mimic different oxygen saturation values (~70% to 100%). Four synthetic melanin filters were used to reproduce the effects of varying melanin attenuation levels. Three commercially available pulse oximeters (Biolight, N=13; ChoiceMMed, N = 18; MedLinket, N = 9) were reviewed and their response documented. All pulse oximeters’ responses under the effects of melanin attenuation did not change across various simulated oxygen saturation values. This does not match with the clinically observed data and one reason is that the light scattering due to tissue had not been fully replicated in the test bench. To investigate this further a Monte Carlo simulation of light propagation through the finger has been developed considering pulsatile flow and different skin tones. In reflection mode, the simulations highlight differences in measured R value and oxygen saturation with change in skin tone in the epidermal layer. However, in case of transmission mode, no change in the measured R value and oxygen saturation was observed. Further validation of these results from simulations is required to help us design pulse oximeters that are reliable and equitable for all users, regardless of skin tone.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.