If you have dark skin, your oximeter is probably understating your oxygen level
The onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed well-entrenched disparities in how the rich and the poor receive medical treatments.
“These oximeters are being used in every country and they have the same problem, and the reason is that a lot of these medical devices, some of the drugs, the textbooks, the procedures, most of them are put together in majority-white countries and I think there is a systemic issue," JavidOximeters, simply called pulse ox by doctors, became a must-have device both in homes and hospitals during the pandemic.
Oxygen saturation at 90 or below is concerning, as the brain, heart, and lungs can be damaged at this level. Therefore, patients with low oxygen saturation need to be hooked on to an oxygen cylinder. Dr Habib Naqvi, who oversees the UK government's efforts to tackle ethnic inequalities in the health system, said in an interview that there’s “Dark-skinned people often run into trouble with tech that depends on a combination of sensors and light. Black people have complained in the past about how no-touch soap dispensers and faucets won’t work for them in malls and airports.
It was not until Amy Moran-Thomas, an Associate Professor of Anthropology at MIT, investigated the concerns related to the device and reported it in theAfter coming across Amy’s article, Dr Michael Sjoding of the University of Michigan Medical School carried out a systematic study, looking into thousands of blood oxygen measurements from Black and white patients to see if oximeter readings were biased. more likely to miss low oxygen levels in black patients than white ones.
Experts in the field of bioethics have long argued that bias in medical devices and procedures is because most of the high-tech research takes place in developed countries and caters to the needs of their own people.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Black businesses turned to fintechs to get PPP loans, per a working paperFintechs helped Black-owned small businesses get access to PPP loans during the pandemic more than banks did. It's weird.
Read more »
Trendy Ways To Wear Your All-Black Outfits Magnificently | Fashionisers©Classical Fashion founds its base over the timeless and glamorous Black Color. Styling a Black dress or black color outfits is the easiest way to look trendy.
Read more »
17 Black-Owned Etsy Shops to Support This Holiday SeasonSupport Black entrepreneurs and small businesses by shopping these Black-owned Etsy shops ✨
Read more »
Amazon internal data shows Black Friday revenue jumpedLeaked internal data shows Amazon's Black Friday revenue jumped from a year earlier, crushing the broader industry which suffered declines
Read more »
Black job applicant sues company for discrimination over hairstyleThe legal claim, believed to be the first of its kind in California, stems from a relatively new law barring grooming policies that ban locks and afros that disproportionately affect Black individuals.
Read more »
Alabama governor honors state's first Black poet laureate | AP NewsMONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey recognized the state's first Black poet laureate, a creative writing teacher who delves into inequality and the difficulty of being Black in America, on Wednesday in the same building where Southern delegates voted to form the Confederacy 160 years ago.
Read more »