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Low-cost test spots anaemia from a phone photo

A fictional university team says a phone photo of the inner eyelid flagged anaemia in 84 percent of 600 patients, in a study yet to be reviewed by other scientists.

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Stock photograph used as an illustration; it does not show the place, event or people in the story. Photo: Photo: Dino Reichmuth via Wikimedia Commons (CC0-1.0)

Researchers at the Riverbend Institute of Technology photographed the inner eyelids of 600 patients in three clinics and used software to estimate haemoglobin.

The tool correctly flagged 84 percent of patients with anaemia and wrongly flagged 12 percent of healthy ones. A blood test remains the standard.

What the study cannot say

It was tested under clinic lighting and on a single phone model, and it has not yet been tested in children under 12. The authors call for a larger field trial.

Sources

This is a demo story: every name, place, organisation and figure in it is fictional.

Sources

  1. Smartphone conjunctival imaging for anaemia screening (preprint, demo) · Demo Preprint Server,
  2. Riverbend Institute press note (demo) · Riverbend Institute of Technology,

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