ArticleJournal of biomedical optics2026
Broad-linewidth sources result in a skin-tone bias in noninvasive optical measurement of oxygen saturation.
Article in Journal of biomedical optics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Melanin- and linewidth-corrected pulse-oximetry.ArXiv · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Significance: Pulse oximeters overestimate arterial oxygen saturation in patients with darker skin tones, potentially increasing rates of occult hypoxemia. The emission of broad-linewidth light-emitting diodes (LEDs) has been proposed as a possible cause for this melanin-dependent bias. Aim: This letter utilizes a physics-based model to investigate if the spectral bandwidth of light sources contributes to melanin-dependent measurement biases. Approach: Pulse oximetry measurements were simulated across varying melanin concentrations and source bandwidths using a hybrid diffusion theory and Monte Carlo model. Epidermal melanin absorption was modeled with transmissive filters on the surfaces of an infinite slab representing bulk tissue. Results: Simulations demonstrate that pulse oximeter calibration curves depend on melanin concentration when broad-linewidth LEDs are utilized. Conversely, calibration curves remain independent of melanin when employing monochromatic laser diodes (LDs). Conclusion: Spectral coloring from broad-linewidth LEDs contributes to the skin-tone bias observed in pulse oximetry. Although updating calibration methods for different skin tones is a potential approach, adopting monochromatic LDs could alternatively eliminate this spectral-coloring contribution to the bias.
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