A smartphone app that detects severe jaundice in newborn newborns by scanning their eyes might save lives in places without access to expensive screening tools.According to a study co-authored by scientists at UCL and the University of Ghana, a smartphone app that detects severe jaundice in newborn babies by scanning their eyes might save lives in places without access to costly screening tools.
The transcutaneous bilirubinometer works by measuring the yellow pigment under the newborn’s skin to give a measure of jaundice levels. All screening results are then followed up by blood tests to determine the type of treatment required. Jaundice, where the skin and whites of the eye turn yellow, is common in newborns and is usually harmless. The yellowness is caused by a substance called bilirubin, which in severe cases can enter the brain, leading to death or disabilities such as hearing loss, neurological conditions such as athetoid cerebral palsy, and developmental delays.
Babies in sub-Saharan Africa are also at a greater risk because of a high prevalence of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, which is an inherited genetic disorder associated with an increased risk of hemolysis – where red blood cells break down at a faster rate than they are made – and hyperbilirubinemia.