FDA Advisory Panel Agrees Pulse Oximeter Skin Pigment Discrepancies Pose Clinical Threat

The FDA’s Anesthesiology and Respiratory Therapy Devices advisory panel met to discuss racial and skin-pigmentation bias in pulse oximeter devices as well as recommendations for the agency.

pulse oximeter on a finger
• Source: Shutterstock

The US Food and Drug Administration’s anesthesiology and respiratory therapy devices advisory committee agreed that pulse oximeters with decreased accuracy on patients with dark skin is a problem that comes with clinical implications.

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