Smartphone Screening Could Help To Predict Anemia In Children

Researchers from UCL and the University of Ghana have successfully predicted whether children are anemic using a series of smartphone images.

The study, published in PLOS ONE , brought together researchers and physicians from UCL Engineering, UCLH and Korle Bu Clinical Hospital in Ghana to investigate a new non-invasive diagnostic method using images of the eyes and face on a smartphone.

This advance could make anemia screening more accessible for children in Ghana (and other low- and middle-income countries) where disease rates due to iron deficiency are high, as the screening tool is much cheaper than current options and provides results. . for a session.

Subscribe to Technology Networks daily newsletter and get the latest science news delivered directly to your inbox each day.

Free registration

The article builds on previous successful studies by the same group that investigated the use of the neoSCB app to detect jaundice in infants.

Anemia is a condition in which the concentration of hemoglobin in the blood decreases, meaning that oxygen cannot be transported around the body efficiently.

It affects two billion people worldwide and can have a significant impact on children's developmental outcomes, increasing their susceptibility to infectious diseases and impairing their cognitive development.

The leading cause of anemia worldwide is iron deficiency, but other conditions such as blood loss, malaria, and sickle cell anemia also contribute.

First author Dr. Thomas Wemyss (Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering UCL) said: "Smartphones are common across the world, but studies using smartphone images to diagnose diseases show a general tendency to have problems when extrapolating the results to different groups of people become. .

“We are excited about these promising results in a group that is often underrepresented in smartphone diagnostic studies. An affordable and reliable method of smartphone-based anemia screening could lead to a long-term improvement in the quality of life for large numbers of people.

Traditionally, diagnosing anemia has required drawing blood samples, which can be expensive for patients and the healthcare system. This can create a discrepancy in the cost of traveling to the hospital for a blood test. Families often have to make two trips, draw a blood sample, and then collect the results while the samples are transported between the clinic and the laboratory for analysis.

In the 1980s, the portable HemoCue device was developed to provide more immediate results, but it has significant upfront and operational costs, as well as a fingerprinted blood sample.

Knowing that hemoglobin has a very specific color due to the way it absorbs light, scientists set out to develop a way to take photos with a smartphone and predict the presence of anemia.

They analyzed photos of 43 children under the age of four who were recruited to take part in the study in 2018. The images showed three body regions with minimal skin pigmentation (white of left eye, lower lip and lower eyelid). ) )

The team found that when combined to predict blood hemoglobin concentration, they were able to successfully identify all cases in people with the most severe anemia classification and identify milder anemia at levels that could be clinically useful.

Lead researcher Dr. Terence Leung (UCL Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering) said: “Since 2018 we have been working with the University of Ghana on affordable ways to improve healthcare through smartphones. Following our success in screening for jaundice in newborns, we are excited to see that smartphone imaging can also be used for anemia in young children and infants.

Lead Author Dr. Judith Meek (UCLH) added: "Anemia is a significant problem for infants, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, and we hope that this type of technology will lead to earlier detection and treatment in the near future."

The study was funded by the EPSRC through the UCL Global Issues Research Foundation and the UCL Doctoral Center for Intelligent and Integrated Imaging in Healthcare.

Reference. Wemyss TA, Nixon-Hill M, Outlaw F, et al. Feasibility of smartphone-assisted facial colorimetry as a tool to treat anemia in infants and young children in Ghana. PLUS ONE . 2023; 18(3). e0281736. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0281736

This article was reprinted from: Note: Material is editable for length and content. For more information, please refer to the given source.