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OUCEAA Activities
Innovations Supported by OUCEAA # 2 Real time non-invasive Haemoglobin Measuring Device
Haemoglobin( Hb) concentration below normal results in a reduced oxygen-carrying capacity of blood cells and is called anaemia. In its severe form, anaemia is associated with many debilitating symptoms such as erratic heartbeat, dizziness and exhaustion. Anaemia affects two billion people worldwide and is responsible for an estimated 20 per cent of maternal deaths each year. The anaemic condition is undiagnosed due to lack of awareness apart from not having sufficient pathological labs.
Currently invasive clinical methods are being used to calculate haemoglobin levels. To conduct laboratory tests blood sample is extracted from the patient and then analysed using different reagents. This procedure causes pain and discomfort to the patient which is undesirable. Another disadvantage of this method is the delay between the blood collection and its analysis. Apart from these common problems, because of human intervention the samples may be interchanged and also improper disposal of the sample may spread communicable diseases and environmental pollution.
All the above problems can be overcome by a non-invasive point-of-care device. Users place their finger in to the wearable finger clip integrated with optical sensory mechanism. The signals obtained are sent to the device, where the device analyses the absorption levels of the tissue at pre-defined wavelengths to obtain anaemia levels. Preliminary results indicate the accuracy levels as high as 95 per cent, in controlled group( normal population, students of our department) in a lab setup.
Our research outcome is a paradigm shifting solution that can transform the screening and diagnosis of anaemia especially in low resource environments, especially remote areas. As anaemia is easily treatable at an early stage, we hope that our device improves health condition by enabling prompt, targeted treatment. Our product has the potential to improve healthcare for millions of people in developing countries by targeting one of the most common and neglected diseases in the world.
The developed device has the following advantages
• Simple & Portable
• Instant result
• Non-Invasive
• No Biological wastes
• Easy to Operate
• Easily Accessible
• Cost Effective
• Robust to Indian conditions
Team members: M. Venkateswara Rao, Dr. M. Malini, Ms. Akitha Kolloju, Ms. B. Sai Lalitha