The common medical devices don’t work as well for Black patients. The FDA is now trying to do something about it.

Sleep apnea affects millions of people worldwide and prevents them from getting quality sleep. It negatively affects patients’ overall health. Diagnosing sleep apnea is the first step toward proper ...

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 ...

A pulse oximeter is a small device that clips onto your fingertip, earlobe, or other body part (e.g., nose, toe) and sends infrared and red light through your soft tissues (e.g., skin, nails ...

If these devices are not calibrated for darker skin tones, the pigmentation of the skin could affect how that light is absorbed by the sensor, leading to erroneous oxygen readings. Pulse oximeters ...

Opens in a new tab or window There was "low but improving uptake" of reporting about the diversity of participants in summary documents for FDA-cleared pulse oximeters after voluntary guidance was ...

But her request for supplemental oxygen while hospitalized was denied, Starr said, because readings from a pulse oximeter on her finger falsely indicated that she was getting plenty of air on her own.