Years of research have showed that pulse oximeters yield less accurate readings for people with darker skin tones, and now the US Food and Drug Administration is proposing guidance to help make these devices more reliable and less biased.

Makers of medical devices that quickly measure oxygen levels in the blood would have to gather extra data to show that their products work for patients of color, under a new federal proposal released Monday.

New draft guidelines would increase the number of people with darker skin who should be included in clinical trials of the devices.