First-Of-Its-Kind Smartphone Technology Noninvasively Measures Blood Hemoglobin Levels at POC
|
By LabMedica International staff writers Posted on 15 Nov 2024 |
|
Blood hemoglobin tests are among the most frequently conducted blood tests, as hemoglobin levels can provide vital insights into various health conditions. However, traditional tests are often underutilized due to the need for expensive equipment, specialized consumables, and trained professionals to collect blood, process the sample, and interpret the results. This limitation has led to an increased prevalence and severity of conditions related to blood hemoglobin, such as anemia, which affects more than 25% of the global population despite being easily treatable and preventable. A new mobile health solution now offers a way to make blood hemoglobin testing more accessible and affordable by leveraging a device most people already own: a smartphone. With this technology, users can quickly and noninvasively measure their blood hemoglobin levels by simply taking a picture or screenshot of the lower inner eyelid, providing immediate and reliable testing at the point of care and beyond.
HemaChrome LLC (West Lafayette, IN, USAhas developed a smartphone-based solution that utilizes algorithms to instantly and noninvasively assess blood hemoglobin levels. Developed in collaboration with Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN, USA), this machine learning-powered technology transforms a smartphone or computer camera into a hyperspectral imager by using spectroscopy and computational algorithms. The system enables users to quantify and evaluate blood hemoglobin content from a digital image of the inner eyelid, making it possible for clinicians to perform point-of-care, home-based, and remote diagnostics at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods.
To ensure high accuracy, HemaChrome’s technology incorporates a groundbreaking patent-pending process that extracts true colors from a digital image with an unprecedented level of precision. While the noninvasive, affordable technology can benefit all users, it will be particularly impactful for underserved populations where anemia is widespread. Anemia often indicates the presence of several health conditions, making early diagnosis crucial. However, many individuals, especially in low-resource areas, lack access to proper testing and remain unaware of their condition. HemaChrome's technology offers a cost-effective and accessible solution to address this diagnostic gap, helping ensure timely treatment for vulnerable groups. HemaChrome is continuing to refine its algorithms and plans to release a minimally viable product by late 2025.
Related Links:
HemaChrome LLC
Purdue University
Latest Hematology News
- New Scoring System Predicts Risk of Developing Cancer from Common Blood Disorder
- Non-Invasive Prenatal Test for Fetal RhD Status Demonstrates 100% Accuracy
- WBC Count Could Predict Severity of COVID-19 Symptoms
- New Platelet Counting Technology to Help Labs Prevent Diagnosis Errors
- Streamlined Approach to Testing for Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia Improves Diagnostic Accuracy
- POC Hemostasis System Could Help Prevent Maternal Deaths
- New Test Assesses Oxygen Delivering Ability of Red Blood Cells by Measuring Their Shape
- Personalized CBC Testing Could Help Diagnose Early-Stage Diseases in Healthy Individuals
- Non-Invasive Test Solution Determines Fetal RhD Status from Maternal Plasma
- Next Gen CBC and Sepsis Diagnostic System Targets Faster, Earlier, Easier Results
- Newly Discovered Blood Group System to Help Identify and Treat Rare Patients
- Blood Platelet Score Detects Previously Unmeasured Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke
- Automated Benchtop System to Bring Blood Testing To Anyone, Anywhere
- New Hematology Analyzers Deliver Combined ESR and CBC/DIFF Results in 60 Seconds
- Next Generation Instrument Screens for Hemoglobin Disorders in Newborns
- First 4-in-1 Nucleic Acid Test for Arbovirus Screening to Reduce Risk of Transfusion-Transmitted Infections
Channels
Clinical Chemistry
view channel
New Method Uses Pulsed Infrared Light to Find Cancer's 'Fingerprints' In Blood Plasma
Cancer diagnoses have traditionally relied on invasive or time-consuming procedures like tissue biopsies. Now, new research published in ACS Central Science introduces a method that utilizes pulsed infrared... Read more
Carbon Nanotubes Help Build Highly Accurate Sensors for Continuous Health Monitoring
Current sensors can measure various health indicators, such as blood glucose levels, in the body. However, there is a need to develop more accurate and sensitive sensor materials that can detect lower... Read more
Molecular Diagnostics
view channel
Blood Test for Early Alzheimer's Detection Achieves Over 90% Accuracy
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a debilitating condition and a leading cause of disability and death worldwide. The availability of reliable diagnostic tools is currently restricted, and diagnosis often relies... Read more
RNA-Based Blood Test Detects Preeclampsia Risk Months Before Symptoms
Preeclampsia remains a major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality, as well as preterm births. Despite current guidelines that aim to identify pregnant women at increased risk of preeclampsia using... Read more
First Of Its Kind Test Uses microRNAs to Predict Toxicity from Cancer Therapy
Many men with early-stage prostate cancer receive stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), a highly precise form of radiation treatment that is completed in just five sessions. Compared to traditional radiation,... Read more
Novel Cell-Based Assay Provides Sensitive and Specific Autoantibody Detection in Demyelination
Anti-myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) antibodies serve as markers for an autoimmune demyelinating disorder that affects the peripheral nervous system, leading to sensory impairment. Anti-MAG-IgM antibodies... Read moreImmunology
view channel
Stem Cell Test Predicts Treatment Outcome for Patients with Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer
Epithelial ovarian cancer frequently responds to chemotherapy initially, but eventually, the tumor develops resistance to the therapy, leading to regrowth. This resistance is partially due to the activation... Read more
Machine Learning-Enabled Blood Test Predicts Immunotherapy Response in Lymphoma Patients
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has emerged as one of the most promising recent developments in the treatment of blood cancers. However, over half of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients... Read more
Microbiology
view channel
Handheld Device Delivers Low-Cost TB Results in Less Than One Hour
Tuberculosis (TB) remains the deadliest infectious disease globally, affecting an estimated 10 million people annually. In 2021, about 4.2 million TB cases went undiagnosed or unreported, mainly due to... Read more
New AI-Based Method Improves Diagnosis of Drug-Resistant Infections
Drug-resistant infections, particularly those caused by deadly bacteria like tuberculosis and staphylococcus, are rapidly emerging as a global health emergency. These infections are more difficult to treat,... Read more
Breakthrough Diagnostic Technology Identifies Bacterial Infections with Almost 100% Accuracy within Three Hours
Rapid and precise identification of pathogenic microbes in patient samples is essential for the effective treatment of acute infectious diseases, such as sepsis. The fluorescence in situ hybridization... Read more
Pathology
view channel
Novel Technique Uses ‘Sugar’ Signatures to Identify and Classify Pancreatic Cancer Cell Subtypes
Pancreatic cancer is often asymptomatic in its early stages, making it difficult to detect until it has progressed. Consequently, only 15% of pancreatic cancers are diagnosed early enough to allow for... Read more
Advanced Imaging Reveals Mechanisms Causing Autoimmune Disease
Myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disease, leads to muscle weakness that can affect a range of muscles, including those needed for basic actions like blinking, smiling, or moving. Researchers have long... Read more
Technology
view channel
Pain-On-A-Chip Microfluidic Device Determines Types of Chronic Pain from Blood Samples
Chronic pain is a widespread condition that remains difficult to manage, and existing clinical methods for its treatment rely largely on self-reporting, which can be subjective and especially problematic... Read more
Innovative, Label-Free Ratiometric Fluorosensor Enables More Sensitive Viral RNA Detection
Viruses present a major global health risk, as demonstrated by recent pandemics, making early detection and identification essential for preventing new outbreaks. While traditional detection methods are... Read more
Industry
view channel
Cepheid and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Partner on Advancing Automated Sequencing-Based Solutions
Cepheid (Sunnyvale, CA, USA), a leading molecular diagnostics company, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (Oxford, UK), the company behind a new generation of sequencing-based molecular analysis technologies,... Read more
Grifols and Tecan’s IBL Collaborate on Advanced Biomarker Panels
Grifols (Barcelona, Spain), one of the world’s leading producers of plasma-derived medicines and innovative diagnostic solutions, is expanding its offer in clinical diagnostics through a strategic partnership... Read more
