This is the definition of "systemic rascism". These devices are the standard in hospitals and medical offices. They work optically, nobody bothered to check if the amount of melanin in skin affects them. Its likely that they were either tested entirely on light skinned people, or that the results for black test subjects were ignored or discarded as outliers. Nobody set out to make a device that might put black patients in danger, but nobody bothered to make sure it didn't.

[–] homes@piefed.world 9 points 4 days ago

It’s not even 6am, and I gotta wake up to hearing about racist medical equipment?

What the fuck

[–] Bristlecone@lemmy.world 6 points 4 days ago (1 children)

If you know how these devices work this makes sense. I'm sure it's a known problem, unfortunately the alternative would sure seem strange selling devices specifically for black people. The overestimation would also only be an issue if they are under 88 spo2 at any given time in actuality, and you would generally have symptoms, unless you have a chronic lung disease or a chronically hypoxic. This study applies only to these cheap handheld devices, sounds like

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 9 points 4 days ago (2 children)

You could always create a device that scans the skin and adjusts the measurements accordingly.

[–] Bristlecone@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

Hospital devices already do this (kind of), like I said this really only applies to those shitty cheap ones you can get at Walgreens. If the oximeter has a power supply you can get the light bright enough to offset any skin tone. No one should be basing critical medical decisions on those cheap battery models, even if they didn't have this inherent problem.

[–] AbidanYre@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago (2 children)

That's going to increase costs and/or decrease profit margins.

[–] veniasilente@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 4 days ago

Then no scanner, just one that you adjust manually.

[–] jaycifer@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Buying two (or more if other skin tones are affected) devices would be more expensive than buying one device that covers all skin tones?

[–] AbidanYre@lemmy.world -1 points 4 days ago (2 children)

If I'm buying for a hospital, sure. If I'm buying one for home, I don't need other skin tones to be covered.

Depends on where they sell more units

[–] acockworkorange@mander.xyz -1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Fuck them mixed race people, I guess.

[–] AbidanYre@lemmy.world 0 points 3 days ago (1 children)

https://lemmy.world/comment/23992596

[–] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 0 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

The point is that a machine that doesn't compensate for melanin content will work for no one. How black are we talking about? Kamala Harris or Lupita Nyong'o? Who are you going to calibrate for?

[–] AbidanYre@lemmy.world 0 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

No, the point is that they're calibrated for the people who they were tested on/made by and that the vast majority of the population isn't going to pay extra for a feature they are never going to need. It's not like the $20 finger clip you got at CVS is a piece of lab equipment that's being regularly recertified by an expert. As long as it says something over ~97% most people are happy and move on with their day.

[–] heartSagan5@lemmy.zip 0 points 4 days ago (1 children)

So, you don’t care about any guests of other skin tones? I’d rather have an oximeter that moderates to the user.

[–] AbidanYre@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago

I can count on 0 fingers the number of times a guest of any color has needed to borrow one, and if a situation arises where they do, we're probably better off calling 911 at that point.

Maybe you would spend the couple extra bucks for that capability. How many other people do you think will?

[+] melsaskca@lemmy.ca -21 points 4 days ago (4 children)

WTF? You take a reading and whatever the results are, are the results. Overestimating?! Must be "AI" then.

[–] phdepressed@sh.itjust.works 16 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Pulse oximeters do not directly read oxygen. They use light absorption to approximate how much hemoglobin is oxygenated or deoxygenated. The de/oxygenation changes the light absorption (its why arterial blood is bright red and venous blood is darker). That is then converted by mathematical algorithm to a estimate of oxygenation the "reading".

This is stating essentially that in black skinned people the changes in light absorption because of the skin color results in the algorithm giving a falsely higher reading than is actually present in the patient.

The math will have to be fixed in some way for black people to receive appropriate care. Whether that is a device unaffected by skin color or different math based on skin color needs to be figured out.

[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 days ago

Oh. I get it now. Good explanation, thanks.

[–] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I beg you to do something about this aversion to learning you have.

[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca -1 points 2 days ago

I've never seen passive-aggressive begging before. So, I guess I'm capable of learning new things, although I'm no genius. It's not aversion, more like bliss.

[–] RickyRigatoni@piefed.zip 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

This is why you read the articles first.

[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 days ago

I go by headline wording and gut feelings. It's either my fault or I've been conditioned by the "algorithm" to do this. /s

[–] MedicPigBabySaver@lemmy.world 0 points 4 days ago

STFU, moron.