UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid on Sunday, said that he had commissioned a review to ascertain whether Oximeters, used to check blood oxygen levels had an 'inherent bias' as per a research. The research, he said, had indicated that oximeters were less effective on people with darker skin.

He made the announcement in his writeup in Sunday Times.

"One of the founding principles of our NHS is equality, and the possibility that a bias -- even an inadvertent one -- could lead to a poorer health outcome is totally unacceptable," he wrote, referring to Britain's National Health Service.

"We urgently need to know more about the bias in these devices, and what impact it is having on the front line.

"So I have commissioned an independent review, looking at whether systematic bias exists within current devices, and if so, how we can address it."

Javid, the son of Pakistani immigrants and the first person from an ethnic minority to hold the role of UK health secretary, said it would assess all medical devices, and other common biases aside from racial bias, such as gender.

He noted his interest in focusing on this issue came in part from seeing health disparities during the height of the coronavirus crisis last winter.

Then, black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups made up 28 percent of critical-care admissions in England -- about double their representation in the population as a whole.

On international collaboration to tackle the issue, Javid said he had already discussed it with Becerra.

(With inputs from agencies)

UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid on Sunday, said that he had commissioned a review to ascertain whether Oximeters, used to check blood oxygen levels had an 'inherent bias' as per a research.

UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid on Sunday, said that he had commissioned a review to ascertain whether Oximeters, used to check blood oxygen levels had an 'inherent bias' as per a research. The research, he said, had indicated that oximeters were less effective on people with darker skin. He made the announcement in his writeup in Sunday Times. "One of the founding principles of our NHS is equality, and the possibility that a bias -- even an inadvertent one -- could lead to a poorer health outcome is totally unacceptable," he wrote, referring to Britain's National Health Service. "We urgently need to know more about the bias in these devices, and what impact it is having on the front line. "So I have commissioned an independent review, looking at whether systematic bias exists within current devices, and if so, how we can address it." Javid, the son of Pakistani immigrants and the first person from an ethnic minority to hold the role of UK health secretary, said it would assess all medical devices, and other common biases aside from racial bias, such as gender. He noted his interest in focusing on this issue came in part from seeing health disparities during the height of the coronavirus crisis last winter. Then, black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups made up 28 percent of critical-care admissions in England -- about double their representation in the population as a whole. On international collaboration to tackle the issue, Javid said he had already discussed it with Becerra. (With inputs from agencies)

Oximeters reportedly less accurate on dark skin, UK launches review

Like all things in the universe, our planet Earth too will fizzle out eventually. Scientists estimate that Earth has about five billion years before the Sun loses its energy, and swallows most of what is currently our solar system.&nbsp;

Think five billion years is a long time? Think again, for scientists now believe that the Earth will perish much before the Sun's existential shenanigans consume life on our planet.

A new study claims that Earth now has only a billion years before it slowly dies out. The planet will not be devoured by fire, a collision, or alien invasion, but actually will perish in the face of diminishing oxygen reserves.

Earth is already losing oxygen and will expel most of the life-sustaining gas from its atmosphere in a billion years' time.&nbsp; &nbsp;Currently, oxygen accounts for 20 per cent of the Earth's atmosphere. A lot of this is produced by plants on the planet, which keeps all creatures breathing.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/nasa-recently-created-artificial-glowing-clouds-in-the-earths-atmosphere-367174" hreflang="en">NASA recently created artificial glowing clouds in the Earth's atmosphere!</a>

Researchers from Georgia Tech and Toho University recently joined hands to ascertain the life span of oxygen in the planet's atmosphere, which in turn will essentially dictate how quickly life vanishes from Earth - an inevitable truth for all things born in the universe. They published their study in Nature Geoscience.

To reach a conclusion, scientists came up with simulations of basic systems on Earth - including climate, along with biological and geological processes which dictate the route of life. They observed the change in oxygen levels as the stimulation shuffled between air, water, and rock - the three basic tenets of earthly life.

In pics:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/whats-behind-these-strange-stripes-in-russia-nasa-answers-367187">What's behind these strange stripes in Russia? NASA answers!</a> 
 
The atmosphere as we know it right now will continue to flourish for a billion years, after which it will begin to deteriorate rapidly. 1.1 billion years from now, oxygen levels are slated to drop to a whopping 1 per cent of the planet's current capability.

Beginning a billion years from now, the same old cycle of life will prevail on planet Earth, making it as desolate as it was 2.4 billion years ago.&nbsp;

Like all things in the universe, our planet Earth too will fizzle out eventually. Scientists estimate that Earth has about five billion years before the Sun loses its energy, and swallows most of what is currently our solar system.

Like all things in the universe, our planet Earth too will fizzle out eventually. Scientists estimate that Earth has about five billion years before the Sun loses its energy, and swallows most of what is currently our solar system. Think five billion years is a long time? Think again, for scientists now believe that the Earth will perish much before the Sun's existential shenanigans consume life on our planet. A new study claims that Earth now has only a billion years before it slowly dies out. The planet will not be devoured by fire, a collision, or alien invasion, but actually will perish in the face of diminishing oxygen reserves. Earth is already losing oxygen and will expel most of the life-sustaining gas from its atmosphere in a billion years' time. Currently, oxygen accounts for 20 per cent of the Earth's atmosphere. A lot of this is produced by plants on the planet, which keeps all creatures breathing. Also read: NASA recently created artificial glowing clouds in the Earth's atmosphere! Researchers from Georgia Tech and Toho University recently joined hands to ascertain the life span of oxygen in the planet's atmosphere, which in turn will essentially dictate how quickly life vanishes from Earth - an inevitable truth for all things born in the universe. They published their study in Nature Geoscience. To reach a conclusion, scientists came up with simulations of basic systems on Earth - including climate, along with biological and geological processes which dictate the route of life. They observed the change in oxygen levels as the stimulation shuffled between air, water, and rock - the three basic tenets of earthly life. In pics: What's behind these strange stripes in Russia? NASA answers! The atmosphere as we know it right now will continue to flourish for a billion years, after which it will begin to deteriorate rapidly. 1.1 billion years from now, oxygen levels are slated to drop to a whopping 1 per cent of the planet's current capability. Beginning a billion years from now, the same old cycle of life will prevail on planet Earth, making it as desolate as it was 2.4 billion years ago.

Why scientists believe life on Earth will perish way earlier than previously thought

US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has warned that Oximeters may not always give accurate measurement of oxygen levels in blood if used for patient with 'skin pigmentation'. This almost entirely translates to Oximeters not providing accurate results 100 per cent of the time for patients with dark skin. USFDA has issued a warning in this regard. It uses a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The study has been carried out by researchers from University of Michigan Medical School.

Oximeters are devices that are typically attached to fingertips of patients. Oximeters are non-invasive in their measurement of blood oxygen levels. In times of coronavirus pandemic, use of Oximeters has increased many times around the world. Drop in blood Oxygen levels may indicate that a person may be infected by COVID-19 virus.

The study carried out by researchers from University of Michigan compared Oxygen readings from Oximeters to those obtained by a more accurate method called Arterial blood gas. These 'pairs' of readings, taken from 10,001 patients were analysed. The patients had White as well as Black patients. It was found that occurrence of wrong reading of blood oxygen levels was three times more in Black patients than it was in White patients. In these patients, Oximeters gave a wrong reading about blood Oxygen levels being normal whereas it was not so.

Based on this study, USFDA has issued a warning that "pulse oximeters have limitations". It has then advised health care providers to supplement their readings with data from other tests and other information that may forthcoming during the examination of the patient.

US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has warned that Oximeters may not always give accurate measurement of oxygen levels in blood if used for patient with 'skin pigmentation'.

US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has warned that Oximeters may not always give accurate measurement of oxygen levels in blood if used for patient with 'skin pigmentation'. This almost entirely translates to Oximeters not providing accurate results 100 per cent of the time for patients with dark skin. USFDA has issued a warning in this regard. It uses a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The study has been carried out by researchers from University of Michigan Medical School. Oximeters are devices that are typically attached to fingertips of patients. Oximeters are non-invasive in their measurement of blood oxygen levels. In times of coronavirus pandemic, use of Oximeters has increased many times around the world. Drop in blood Oxygen levels may indicate that a person may be infected by COVID-19 virus. The study carried out by researchers from University of Michigan compared Oxygen readings from Oximeters to those obtained by a more accurate method called Arterial blood gas. These 'pairs' of readings, taken from 10,001 patients were analysed. The patients had White as well as Black patients. It was found that occurrence of wrong reading of blood oxygen levels was three times more in Black patients than it was in White patients. In these patients, Oximeters gave a wrong reading about blood Oxygen levels being normal whereas it was not so. Based on this study, USFDA has issued a warning that "pulse oximeters have limitations". It has then advised health care providers to supplement their readings with data from other tests and other information that may forthcoming during the examination of the patient.

Oximeters may not always give accurate reading on dark skin: Study

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