Health monitors are heavily tested by the FDA after their manufacturers build them at their highest quality. Most devices will not fail but many will display signs of bias. This can happen in devices like Pulse oximeters which shine a light on the skin in order to sense the color of the blood. These are highly accurate but can show different readings with black patients. A similar incident occurs with newborn bilirubin measurement as well as heart rate monitors.
Key Takeaways:
- Medical devices do not always work with one hundred percent accuracy so smartphones are even more susceptible to failure.
- Pulse oximeters can sometimes give inaccurate readings with black people because these shine light on the skin to get blood readings.
- Sometimes when devices are not tested on a diverse group of people they can have certain biases across the board.
“In recent years, there’s been a veritable explosion in the number and type of health monitoring devices available in smartphones and fitness apps.”
Read more: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/does-your-health-monitor-have-device-bias-2021021921985
