The effectiveness of pulse oximetry sonification enhanced with tremolo and brightness for distinguishing clinically important oxygen saturation ranges: a laboratory study

Our study examined the effectiveness of pulse oximetry sonification enhanced with acoustic tremolo and brightness to help listeners differentiate clinically relevant oxygen saturation ranges. In a series of trials lasting 30s each, 76 undergraduate participants identified final oxygen saturation range (Target: 100% to 97%; Low: 96% to 90%; Critical: 89% and below), and detected threshold transitions into and out of the target range using conventional sonification (n=38) or enhanced sonification (n=38). Median (IQR [range]) accuracy for range identification with the conventional sonification was 80 (70-85 [45-95])%, whereas with the enhanced sonification it was 100 (99-100 [80-100])%; p<0.001. Accuracy for detecting threshold transitions with the conventional sonification was 60 (50-75 [30-95])%, but with the enhanced sonification it was 100 (95-100 [75-100]%; p<0.001. Participants can identify clinically meaningful oxygen saturation ranges and detect threshold transitions more accurately with enhanced sonification than with conventional sonification.