Smartphone instead of pulse oximeter
A new application using a smartphone measures the level of oxygen in the blood
Svetlana Maslova, Hi-tech+
As a simple analogue of a pulse oximeter, scientists have developed a smartphone application that evaluates the level of oxygen in the blood. This is an important tool for monitoring COVID-19, asthma and other diseases in which indicators can plummet, requiring urgent medical care.
The COVID-19 pandemic introduced many people to pulse oximeters — miniature devices for assessing the level of oxygen in the blood, which is usually attached to a finger or earlobe to perform measurements. In search of a free and affordable alternative for patients, scientists from The University of Washington and the University of California at San Diego turned to the possibilities of smartphones and artificial intelligence.
During breathing, the lungs are filled with oxygen, which is distributed to red blood cells for transportation throughout the body. In order to function, the body needs a large amount of oxygen — in healthy people, oxygen levels in the blood do not fall below 95%. In some diseases, especially pneumonia caused by COVID-19, the percentage of oxygen saturation drops to 90% or lower, which requires urgent medical care.
Using a smartphone camera and flash, the researchers trained an algorithm to evaluate indicators of blood oxygen saturation. To do this, they asked volunteers to put a pulse oximeter on one hand and use a camera with a flash on the other, having previously artificially lowered the oxygen level in the blood using a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen.
The accuracy check showed that the application detected low oxygen levels in the blood in 80% of cases. The range of assessment of the level of blood saturation was from 61% to 100%.
The authors believe that further work will improve the accuracy — only six volunteers with certain limitations for AI — swarthy skin color and calluses on their fingers participated in this preliminary stage. They are currently planning new studies with a large sample of participants.
In the future, the technology is planned to be made available to all people who need regular monitoring of oxygen levels in the blood. First of all, it will be useful for patients with COVID-19, asthma and heart failure.
Article by Hoffman et al. Smartphone camera oximetry in an induced hypoxemia study is published in the journal npj Digital Medicine – VM.
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