Join the Fight for Accurate
Pulse Oximeters
The pulse oximeter is an electronic device that clips to one’s finger and measures oxygen levels in the blood. Recent studies, including our own co-authored research, have highlighted the alarming inaccuracies of pulse oximeters when used on individuals with darker skin tones.
These inaccuracies can lead to critical treatment delays, particularly for patients with COVID-19 and other respiratory ailments, and contribute to the broader issue of health disparities and medical racism.
In November 2023, Roots Community Health filed suit in Alameda County Superior Court asking it to halt further sales of unreliable pulse oximeters or require manufacturers and distributors of the flawed devices to warn purchasers of their products’ dangerous shortcomings.
The suit is filed against Walgreens, CVS, GE Healthcare, Masimo, and other leading manufacturers and sellers of pulse oximeters, based on substantial research that determined the devices often dangerously overestimate the blood oxygen levels of persons with darker skin.
According to Dr. Noha Aboelata, CEO of Roots Community Health, lighter skin or “whiteness” was the default for which pulse oximeters were designed, tested, manufactured, regulated, and sold. “The pulse oximeter is an example of the tragic harm that occurs when the nation’s health care industry and the regulatory agencies that oversee it prioritize white health over the realities of non-white patients,” says Dr. Aboelata. “The story of the making, marketing, and use of racially biased pulse oximeters is an indictment of our health care system.”
Share this video and check out the links below to learn more about what you can do to advocate for yourself and inform the public about the profound harms surrounding the pulse oximeter.
