10027966POEm: Pulse Oximetry from the Ear-druM; a robust measurement site eliminating a racial biasClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKDoctors and other healthcare staff often use finger clip probes attached gently to the tip of a person's finger to measure the amount of oxygen they have in their blood. Because oxygen is so important for all the processes in your body, when people are well their oxygen level is kept at a steady level. However, reducing oxygen levels can indicate that someone is suffering a serious illness and need immediate emergency treatment, including oxygen through a mask. Oxygen measurements have therefore become a routine measurement during many healthcare consultations and treatment is often decided according to the level of oxygen measured, including for COVID-19\. It is therefore essential that the oxygen readings are 1) easily collected, and 2) reliable. In particular, they must not give false reassurance that oxygen levels are healthy when in reality they are dangerously low. Evidence has emerged and been publicised by the UK government recently, that the widely used finger probe oxygen device (and ear lobe clips) are not accurate for people with darker skin colours. This has resulted in an underestimate of severe disease and putting Black, Asian and minority ethnic people at risk of not being treated for serious illness. Also, national guidelines on detecting sepsis rely on oxygen measurements. However, many under-5-year-olds have difficulty staying still for long enough to obtain a reliable reading, meaning there is insufficient information to determine if a child has sepsis, making the diagnosis and management more difficult. The project group has identified that everyone's eardrums are the same colour, offering a site at which oxygen levels can be reliably obtained for everyone. We are therefore developing and testing a wearable or handheld device (like an ear-thermometer, for example) that we hope to show is reliable for everyone, irrespective of skin colour. We also believe it will be easier to detect levels in the wriggling younger child, and will be able to give accurate measurements in the cold. This project is to test the concept of the Pulse Oximetry from the EardruM (POEM) device in collaboration with experts at University of West of England, Bristol, to allow us to move on for testing in a large population including patients of all ethnic groups