The Impact of Skin Pigmentation on Blood Oxygen Measurement Accuracy and Analysis of Calibration Methods

Yinuo  Ji

doi:10.54254/2755-2721/2025.GL24469

Applied and Computational EngineeringOpen access

The Impact of Skin Pigmentation on Blood Oxygen Measurement Accuracy and Analysis of Calibration Methods

Research Article

Open Access

The Impact of Skin Pigmentation on Blood Oxygen Measurement Accuracy and Analysis of Calibration Methods

Yinuo Ji ^1*

¹ School of Integrated Circuits, Jiangnan University, Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province, China, 214401

^*Corresponding author: 1223149183@qq.com

Published on 4 July 2025

ACE Vol.172

ISSN (Print): 2755-273X

ISSN (Online): 2755-2721

ISBN (Print): 978-1-80590-221-8

ISBN (Online): 978-1-80590-222-5

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Abstract

This study uses COMSOL Multiphysics to create an optical model incorporating layered skin structures to investigate the impact of melanin concentration on light absorption characteristics at red and infrared wavelengths. The dynamic calibration algorithm is proposed to enhance measurement accuracy. Simulation results show that under high melanin concentrations, red light transmission intensity decreases by 23.5%, leading to an R-value deviation of 6.8%. By integrating the Individual Typology Angle for skin tone quantification and applying multiple linear regression, the root mean square error (RMSE) is reduced from 5.44% to 1.2%. This research provides theoretical support for optimizing optical design and skin-tone calibration in pulse oximeters, contributing to improved health monitoring equity for darker-skinned populations.

Keywords:

Pulse oximetry, Skin tone calibration, COMSOL simulation, Optical modeling, R-ratio optimization

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References

[1]. Ren, Y Z. (2024), CS32A010 oximeter based solution[J]. China Integrated Circuit, 300: 79-83.

[2]. Sohn R. (2022）, The Fatal Flaw of Pulse Oximetry[J]. Biomedical.

[3]. Guo C Y, et al. (2023）， Calibrating Oxygen Saturation Measurements for Different Skin Colors Using ITA[J]. IEEE Sensors Magazine, 23(15): 16994-17001.

[4]. Ma, J. (2023), Correction of oxygen saturation R-value curves based on the Lambert-Beer law[J]. Measurement Science and Technology, 67(1): 23-28.

[5]. Chen, N. (2023), Tracking Blood Oxygen - Spectroscopy at Your Fingertips[J]. University Chemistry, 38(7): 136-141.

[6]. Chen, H. (2023), Oximeter: CN116919398A[P].

[7]. Shao, S H. (2024), A study of calibration methods for pulse oximetry[J]. Metrology and test technology, 50(12): 128-130.

[8]. Y 0784-2010, Basic Safety Requirements for Medical Pulse Oximetry Equipment[S].

[9]. Chen, Y. Li, K Y. (2021), A study of three-wavelength oximetry calibration curves[J]. Beijing Biomedical Engineering, 40(5): 499-504.

[10]. Chen, N，You, T. (2021), Analysis of factors affecting the accuracy of pulse oximetry measurement [J]. China Medical Engineering，2021，29（5）：13-16.

[11]. D. R. Seshadri et al, (2020), "Wearable Sensors for COVID-19: A Call to Action to Harness Our Digital Infrastructure for Remote Patient Monitoring and Virtual Assessments, " Frontiers in Digital Health, vol. 2, pp. 1-11, Jun.

References

[1]. Ren, Y Z. (2024), CS32A010 oximeter based solution[J]. China Integrated Circuit, 300: 79-83.

[2]. Sohn R. (2022）, The Fatal Flaw of Pulse Oximetry[J]. Biomedical.

[3]. Guo C Y, et al. (2023）， Calibrating Oxygen Saturation Measurements for Different Skin Colors Using ITA[J]. IEEE Sensors Magazine, 23(15): 16994-17001.

[4]. Ma, J. (2023), Correction of oxygen saturation R-value curves based on the Lambert-Beer law[J]. Measurement Science and Technology, 67(1): 23-28.

[5]. Chen, N. (2023), Tracking Blood Oxygen - Spectroscopy at Your Fingertips[J]. University Chemistry, 38(7): 136-141.

[6]. Chen, H. (2023), Oximeter: CN116919398A[P].

[7]. Shao, S H. (2024), A study of calibration methods for pulse oximetry[J]. Metrology and test technology, 50(12): 128-130.

[8]. Y 0784-2010, Basic Safety Requirements for Medical Pulse Oximetry Equipment[S].

[9]. Chen, Y. Li, K Y. (2021), A study of three-wavelength oximetry calibration curves[J]. Beijing Biomedical Engineering, 40(5): 499-504.

[10]. Chen, N，You, T. (2021), Analysis of factors affecting the accuracy of pulse oximetry measurement [J]. China Medical Engineering，2021，29（5）：13-16.

Cite this article

Ji,Y. (2025). The Impact of Skin Pigmentation on Blood Oxygen Measurement Accuracy and Analysis of Calibration Methods. Applied and Computational Engineering,172,29-35.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of CONF-FMCE 2025 Symposium: Semantic Communication for Media Compression and Transmission

ISBN: 978-1-80590-221-8(Print) / 978-1-80590-222-5(Online)

Editor: Anil Fernando

Conference website: https://2025.conffmce.org/glasgow.html

Conference date: 24 October 2025

Series: Applied and Computational Engineering

Volume number: Vol.172

ISSN: 2755-2721(Print) / 2755-273X(Online)

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