Reliability of Smartphone Applications for the Quantification of Oxygen Saturation.

Almas F Khattak,Madiha Khattak,Susan S Kakakhel,Tania Khattak,Faryal Akbar,Noman K Wazir

doi:10.7759/cureus.19417

Abstract

BackgroundSmartphone technology is rapidly evolving and advancing, with many of them offering health applications being used for oximetry purposes, including the Samsung Health/S Health application. Measuring oxygen saturation is one of the important indications to monitor patients with COVID-19, as well as other health conditions. These applications can be used for measuring oxygen saturation to provide a convenient solution for clinical decisions.MethodsOxygen saturation measurements were collected using the Samsung Health application for Samsung Galaxy smartphone with a sensor and camera flash and a low-cost portable digital display (liquid crystal display (LCD)) finger pulse oximeter. Intra-session reliability was established to determine the consistency between the measures. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) reported for both methods. The Bland-Altman plot was used to compare the level of agreement between the two measurement methods.ResultsThere was a statistically significant average difference between pulse oximeter and Samsung Health application measurements (t125 = 4.407, p < 0.001), and on average, pulse oximeter measurement was 0.510 points higher than Samsung Health application measurement (95% CI = 0.281-0.740). The pulse oximeter and Samsung Health application scores were moderately correlated (r = 0.462). The results of the intra-session reliability test produced an acceptable ICC value of 0.557, indicating moderate reliability and consistent results for the measurement of oxygen saturation with both methods. The Bland-Altman plot showed a consistently equal distribution of data points scattered above and below zero.ConclusionSmartphone health applications can be used with moderate reliability to measure oxygen saturation.

Highlights

The COVID crisis is requiring us to manage patients with as little in-person contact as possible
There was a statistically significant average difference between pulse oximeter and Samsung Health application measurements (t125 = 4.407, p < 0.001), and on average, pulse oximeter measurement was 0.510 points higher than Samsung Health application measurement
Our findings suggested a moderate level of reliability between a portable finger pulse oximeter and the Samsung Health application for measuring oxygen saturation in healthy individuals

Summary

Introduction

The COVID crisis is requiring us to manage patients with as little in-person contact as possible. The assessment of a patient with respiratory problems usually includes the measurement of blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) using a validated pulse oximeter [1] This is important in unwell patients with COVID-19 since hypoxia is a serious warning sign for severe pneumonia [2]. Measuring oxygen saturation is one of the critical indications to monitor patients with COVID-19 to prevent them from going into hypoxia as a decrease in oxygen saturation could prove fatal especially in those with respiratory symptoms. In such conditions, smartphone technology can come in handy to provide convenient solutions in patient care [4,5,6]. These applications can be used for measuring oxygen saturation to provide a convenient solution for clinical decisions

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