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Limiting racial disparities and bias for wearable devices in health science research

Colvonen PJ, DeYoung PN, Bosompra NA, Owens RL
SLEEP 20202020
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Published articlePublication date: Sep 7, 2020Added to atlas: Oct 15, 2026Source
Citations135Crossref referencesChecked Oct 16, 2026
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Activity counts measure attention, not model quality. Missing counts are unknown. Publication status follows the linked source; a listed venue alone does not confirm peer review.

Optical (green-light) sensors may perform worse on darker skin; calls for diverse validation. Fairness pitfall for any PPG-based archetype.

  • Venue: SLEEP 2020
At a glance
Venue
SLEEP 2020
Published
2020
DOI
10.1093/sleep/zsaa159 (opens in a new tab)
arXiv
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PMID
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Added
Oct 15, 2026

Abstract

Consumer wearables are devices used for tracking activity, sleep, and other health-related outcomes (e.g. Apple Watch, Fitbit, Samsung, Basis, Mio, PulseOn, Whoop). Wearables promise a myriad of health-related information, including low heart rate alerts, a personal electrocardiogram (ECG) monitor for detecting arrhythmia, sleep tracking (e.g. sleep architecture), and pulse pressure designed to promote healthy living and alert high-risk consumers based on real-time data. Their relative low cost, the collection of longitudinal data, and the ability to display/transmit information suggest a host of benefits if used in clinical practice and to advance remote research. Unfortunately, due to technological limitations of photoplethysmographic (PPG) green light signaling, these health constructs may only be accessible for a population of people with lighter skin tones. We note with deep concern that there is increasing evidence that these devices are not as accurate, and may not work at all, in people with darker skin tones [1, 2]. The reduced accuracy of wearable devices in people with darker skin tones seems to have been known for some time, yet this issue has garnered little attention from the medical community. Apart from limited media coverage [3], anecdotal reports, and minimal research publications [1, 2, 4, 5], the role of dark skin tones on wearable accuracy is a severely underreported phenomenon that requires direct attention and action from industry and the scientific community. Our concern is amplified as these devices are now transitioning from consumer goods into health-related research and their internal algorithms are becoming

Verbatim fromSemantic Scholar· Abstract via Semantic Scholar; © the authors/publisher

Limiting racial disparities and bias for wearable devices in health science research: ChatPPG research summary card

Cite

@article{colvonenwearableracialbi2020,
  title = {{Limiting racial disparities and bias for wearable devices in health science research}},
  author = {Colvonen PJ and DeYoung PN and Bosompra NA and Owens RL},
  year = {2020},
  journal = {SLEEP 2020},
  doi = {10.1093/sleep/zsaa159}
}

History

  1. Added to the ChatPPG research hub

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