Melanometry for objective evaluation of skin pigmentation in pulse oximetry studies

Pulse oximetry enables real-time, noninvasive monitoring of arterial blood oxygen levels. However, results can vary with skin color, thus detecting disparities during clinical validation studies requires an accurate measure of skin pigmentation. Recent clinical studies have used subjective methods s...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Communications medicine 2024-07, Vol.4 (1), p.138-19, Article 138
Main Authors: Vasudevan, Sandhya, Vogt, William C., Weininger, Sandy, Pfefer, T. Joshua
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
59
692/700/139
692/700/478
Accuracy
COVID-19
Dermatology
Ethnicity
Health disparities
Hemoglobin
Inequality
Medical equipment
Medical technology
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Optics
Pandemics
Pulse oximetry
Racial differences
Review Article
Skin
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Pulse oximetry enables real-time, noninvasive monitoring of arterial blood oxygen levels. However, results can vary with skin color, thus detecting disparities during clinical validation studies requires an accurate measure of skin pigmentation. Recent clinical studies have used subjective methods such as self-reported color, race/ethnicity to categorize skin. Melanometers based on optical reflectance may offer a more effective, objective approach to assess pigmentation. Here, we review melanometry approaches and assess evidence supporting their use as clinical research tools. We compare performance data, including repeatability, robustness to confounders, and compare devices to each other, to subjective methods, and high-quality references. Finally, we propose best practices for evaluating melanometers and discuss alternate optical approaches that may improve accuracy. Whilst evidence indicates that melanometers can provide superior performance to subjective approaches, we encourage additional research and standardization efforts, as these are needed to ensure consistent and reliable results in clinical studies. Vasudevan et al. discuss optical melanometry as a tool for objective, quantitative evaluation of skin pigmentation in studies addressing pulse oximeter racial disparity. The authors analyze research on commercial melanometer accuracy, discuss best practices for implementation and highlight promising future research directions.
ISSN:2730-664X
2730-664X
DOI:10.1038/s43856-024-00550-7