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NCT Number: NCT07799454

Evaluation of the Melanin-Adjusted Blood Oxygen Sensor (MABOS) in ICU Settings

Purpose: Investigate the accuracy of the investigators' novel pulse oximeter across a broad range of skin-pigmentations and oxygen saturations.

Participants: Up to 120 adult participants admitted to Medical Intensive Care, or Cardiovascular Thoracic Critical Care, Units.

Procedures (methods): Participants will have their skin tone measured on each finger using a spectrophotometer. During the study, participants will wear one of the investigators' custom devices - MABOS - on one finger of each hand. Additionally, they will wear a variant of the investigators' device on an additional finger and outer side of the associated wrist. The study team will continuously acquire data from all devices until either 4 Arterial Blood Gas tests have been collected, or 24 hours have elapsed.

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Key information

Conditions

Hypoxemia Hypoxia Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Signs and Symptoms Signs and Symptoms, Respiratory

Age range

18 year–85 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Hospitals

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27514, United States

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Arjun Putcha, M.S.

CONTACT

[email protected]

7049544398

Wubin Bai, Ph.D.

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Age ranges from 18 to 85 years.
  • Individuals admitted to one of UNC Hospital's intensive care units (Medical Intensive Care Unit or Cardiovascular and Thoracic Intensive Care Unit).
  • Individuals with a medical condition necessitating a minimum of two arterial blood gas measurements within a 24-hour period.
  • Participant, or Legally Authorized Representative (LAR) must be able to read, write, and speak English fluently.

Exclusion criteria

  • History of active (clinically significant) skin disorders that make skin vulnerable to contact with conventional electronic devices.
  • History of allergic response to silicones, adhesives (such as 3M Tegaderm), or acetone.
  • Broken, damaged or irritated skin or rashes near the sensor application sites.
  • Presence of tattoos on the fingers, hands, or forearms.
  • History of a genetic condition or skin disorder that variably impacts the amount of melanin pigmentation (e.g., Vitiligo).
  • Pregnant or lactating individuals
  • Individuals given methylene blue within the last 24 hours or Hydroxocobalamin within the last 2 weeks.
  • Individuals experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning.
  • History of conditions that may affect ABG readings (e.g., lipemic specimens).
  • History of hematological conditions affecting red blood cell morphology (e.g., sickle cell disease)
  • Patients on Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO), durable left ventricular assist device (LVAD), or Impella.

Treatment and study plan

MABOS

Device

Custom pulse oximeter with multiple wavelengths of light used to estimate blood oxygen levels.

Primary outcomes

  1. Accuracy of MABOS by Comparing SpO2 Percent Blood Oxygen Saturation to SaO2 Percent Blood Oxygen Saturation Utilizing ARMS Calculation Calculation

    Time frame: From enrollment (placement of device) to the end of the study (when 24 hours have elapsed since placement of the device).

    Validate the accuracy of the novel MABOS pulse oximeter against the oxygen saturation of arterial blood in critically ill patients across a range of blood oxygen levels. This will be reported as the R-squared value of the regression fitting the raw oximeter data to the gold standard arterial oxygen measurements (SaO2), as well as an Accuracy-Root Mean Square (ARMS) value (unit: %).

Secondary outcomes

  1. MABOS' Epidermal Melanin Estimation Accuracy comparing True Melanin Concentration (arbitrary units) to Estimated Melanin Concentration (arbitrary units) using the RMSE Calculation

    Time frame: From enrollment (placement of device) to the end of the study (when 24 hours have elapsed since placement of the device).

    Validate the accuracy of the novel MABOS pulse oximeter in differentiating skin pigmentation against the investigators' spectrophotometer across a range of skin melanin content (termed 'melanin index') and blood oxygen levels.

    This will be an algorithmic output transforming the oximeter output into a melanin value that compares favorably with the gold standard spectrophotometer measurements. The study team will report an R-squared value for the regression comparing the oximeter data to the gold standard measurement of skin-tone (melanin-index) as well as the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) calculation (unit: %).

  2. Comparable Accuracy between MABOS and existing pulse oximeter devices using ARMS calculation

    Time frame: From enrollment (placement of device) to the end of the study (when 24 hours have elapsed since placement of the device).

    Demonstrate that the novel MABOS pulse oximeter is non-inferior to currently available pulse oximetry devices in patients with high skin melanin content in predicting oxygen saturation of arterial blood (SpO2) across a range of blood oxygen levels. This will be reported as the R-squared value of the regression incorporating skin-tone between the raw oximeter and skin-tone data versus the gold standard arterial blood gas (ABG) readings, as well as the Accuracy-Root Mean Square calculation between devices (unit: %).

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Arjun Putcha, M.S.

CONTACT

[email protected]

704-954-4398

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Evaluation of the Melanin-Adjusted Blood Oxygen Sensor (MABOS) in ICU Settings: Improving the Accuracy in Critical Conditions for Patients of Color

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Sep 2, 2026
Registry last updated
Sep 2, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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