Researchers at Emory University in the US have developed a potentially disruptive technology that can detect anaemia by using only a smartphone app and photo.
The on-demand system enables anyone with a smartphone to download the app and immediately detect a variety of anaemia anywhere and anytime. The smartphone app accurately measures hemoglobin levels in blood by analyzing color and metadata of a person's fingernails. The non-invasive diagnostics could replace common blood-based laboratory diagnosis and analysis.
The app could facilitate self-management by patients and could be especially appropriate for pregnant women, women with abnormal menstrual bleeding. The researchers said that the app should be used for screening, not clinical diagnosis of anaemia, which affect over 2 billion people worldwide. The smartphone app can be valid for people with a variety of skin tones and could be useful in developing countries.
This technology may potentially be viable for at-home and clinical use for diagnosis of anemia in addition to the screening capability of the app when uncalibrated.
"This is a stand-alone app whose accuracy is on par with currently available point-of-care tests without the need to draw blood," said Wilbur Lam, principal investigator of the study published in the journal Nature Communications.
The ability to inexpensively diagnose anemia with a high sensitivity, completely noninvasively and without the need for any external smartphone attachments or calibration equipment represents a significant improvement over current point-of-care anemia screening. "All other 'point-of-care' anaemia detection tools require external equipment, and represent trade-offs between invasiveness, cost, and accuracy," said Lam.
