The head of the British Ministry of Health, Javid ordered to check medical devices for “racial bias” “Racial bias”. An independent examination was appointed after it turned out that the means for measuring the level of oxygen in the blood – oximeters – show less accurate results on people with dark skin, writes The Times.
“It's easy to look at the device and assume that it works the same for everyone. But technology is created and developed by humans, so bias, while not deliberate, can also be the cause. Therefore, questions such as who writes the code, how the product is tested and who sits at the board of directors table are crucial, especially when it comes to our health, ”the minister emphasized.
Javid added that one of the Equality is at the core of the UK's NHS principles, so even unintentional bias that can lead to poor patient health is unacceptable.
The Minister has commissioned an independent review of systemic errors and how to resolve the issue. In particular, gender bias will be tested, such as the availability of MRI scanners for pregnant and lactating women. He concluded that the coronavirus pandemic has brought to the fore the problem of medical device bias, which has long been ignored.
Previously, scientists have discovered that British medical workers in contact with covid patients have a special immunity to coronavirus that cannot be determined through antibody tests. According to the results of the analyzes, it turned out that for four months their PCR tests were always negative, however, antibodies to coronavirus were not found in their blood, even if their colleagues in the clinic were infected with COVID-19.