Methods, systems, and computer readable media for melanin-concentration-adjusted pulse oximetry

Abstract

Existing pulse oximeters have impaired accuracy in measuring blood oxygen levels (SpO2) in patients of color, where the presence of melanin in the skin tends to interfere with measurements of pulse oximetry, resulting in an overestimation of SpO2. Thus, the pulse oximeter often reports a higher oxygen saturation for patients with darker skin tones, often with increasing bias as the actual saturation (SaO2) decreases. This bias is further reinforced by calibration based on individuals with light skin pigmentation, which may lead to inequitable healthcare for patients of color. Our proposed solution is to modify current pulse oximetry calculations—which utilize the relative tissue absorbance of red and infrared light to estimate SpO2—to account for the concentration of melanin by additionally measuring the skin absorbance of UV˜A light. This derived concentration of melanin can then be used to modify the pulse oximetry algorithm output, thus estimating SpO2 more accurately for patients of color.

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