New app diagnoses anemia
Julia Korowski, XXII CENTURY, based on the materials of the University of Washington: HemaApp screens for anemia, blood conditions without needle sticks
Scientists from the University of Washington have developed an application to measure the concentration of hemoglobin and diagnose anemia. The scientific work will be presented at the joint conference on global Computerization (International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing) of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).
A common problem in developing countries is anemia, a group of symptoms caused by malnutrition or a parasitic disease. And in hospitals, patients with leukemia and some other diseases have to donate blood to determine whether they need a transfusion.
In both cases, doctors need to measure the level of hemoglobin, an iron–containing protein found in red blood cells. They have to take blood with a needle or an intravenous catheter, or spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on specialized equipment that receives the necessary data noninvasively. "In developing countries, doctors use so much special equipment to diagnose diseases that they literally have whole bags of devices," says lead author of the study Edward Wang. "We are trying to make this diagnostic equipment work on a single and widespread platform – a smartphone."
Engineers and programmers at the University of Washington have developed the HemaApp application, which measures the concentration of hemoglobin in the blood and diagnoses anemia using a smartphone camera. By analyzing how radiation of different wavelength ranges (colors) is absorbed and reflected, HemaApp can approximately determine the concentration of hemoglobin, plasma and other blood components. To make sure that the application works on people with different skin tones and weight, scientists have developed algorithms that distinguish the properties of the patient's blood and the physical characteristics of his finger by pulse indicators.
During the clinical trial, in which 31 people participated, HemaApp worked as well as Masimo Pronto, a specialized medical device for measuring hemoglobin levels approved by the FDA. The researchers tested the application in different conditions: with the help of a single smartphone camera, in combination with a common incandescent lamp and with inexpensive LEDs. During the tests, the results of measuring the level of hemoglobin obtained using a single smartphone camera correlated with a clinical blood test by 69%, in combination with an incandescent lamp – by 74%, with a small circle of LEDs – by 82%. At the same time, Masimo Pronto devices showed a result of 81%.
The application will not replace blood tests, but it will help you understand whether you need to conduct a laboratory study. In the anemia tests, HemaApp correctly identified 79% of cases of low hemoglobin using a flash and 86% using additional lighting sources. Now the researchers intend to conduct extensive clinical studies and improve the accuracy of diagnosis.
Hemoglobin is a complex iron–containing protein of animals with blood circulation, capable of reversibly binding with oxygen, ensuring its transfer to tissues. In vertebrates, it is contained in erythrocytes, in most invertebrates it is dissolved in blood plasma and may be present in other tissues.
The main function of hemoglobin is the transfer of oxygen. In humans, in the capillaries of the lungs, in conditions of excess oxygen, the latter combines with hemoglobin. By the blood flow, erythrocytes containing hemoglobin molecules are delivered to organs and tissues where oxygen is scarce; here, oxygen necessary for the course of oxidative processes is released from the connection with hemoglobin. In addition, hemoglobin is able to bind a small amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in tissues and release it in the lungs.
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09.09.2016