Vital signs, those fluorescent green numbers that beep, ding, and dash across black screens on the monitors in hospital rooms, have become a new source of angst during the coronavirus pandemic. One of ...

Which pulse oximeter is best? Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, most people had likely never heard of a pulse oximeter. Now, this handy, potentially life-saving device has become ...

Each week we answer some of your pressing questions about the coronavirus and how to stay safe. Email us your questions at goatsandsoda@npr.org with the subject line: "Weekly Coronavirus Questions." ...

A tiny fingertip device can give you valuable information about your health during a bout of Covid-19 or any respiratory illness. By Tara Parker-Pope After working for 10 days at Bellevue Hospital in ...

Doctors say for most people they aren't needed -- and may even be a bad idea. Lung problems like pneumonia and respiratory failure can be some of the most severe symptoms of COVID-19. Knowing how your ...

Covid-19 made pulse oximeters an even more important tool for measuring the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream than they had been before. Widely used in hospitals and health systems, these small ...

The common fingertip devices that measures oxygen in the blood can sometimes give misleading readings in people with dark skin, according to a report Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Oakland, California — The patient was in his 60s, an African American man with emphysema. The oximeter placed on his fingertip registered well above the 88% blood oxygen saturation level that signals ...

Although a new study showed the devices are more error-prone in people with darker skin, doctors say they are still useful for anyone monitoring Covid-19 at home. By Tara Parker-Pope Home pulse ...