To the Editor:
Thank you for your Letter to the Editor on our Commentary on the evolution of the pulse ox.1 Our purpose was to highlight some of the issues with the current pulse oximeters and the efforts being made to address those concerns.2,3 The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding was one mechanism used by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to generate interest in improving the pulse oximeter. The SBIR that was referenced in the Comment by Iwashyna et al PHS 2023-1, SBIR #114, was issued August 8, 2022, and closed November 4, 2022. Although not an active SBIR, applications to the program currently are under review. The successful company will receive financial support to further their research and bring a product to market. Among the goals of the SBIR program are the design of a new device that addresses the clinical issues in part by recruiting diverse participants for testing, undergoing rigorous regulatory review, and resulting in the commercialization of the device. Successfully reaching these goals would be a major step in solving the clinical problems generated by inaccurate pulse oximeters.
Funding/Support
The authors were supported by the Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Financial/Nonfinancial Disclosures
See earlier cited article for author conflicts of interest.
Acknowledgments
Role of sponsors: The sponsor had no role in the design of the study, the collection and analysis of the data, or the preparation of the manuscript.
References
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