Phone app can diagnose anaemia from photos of fingernails
Phone app can diagnose anaemia from photos of fingernails
By Sam Wong 4 December 2018
A smartphone app can diagnose anaemia by analysing the
colour of a person’s fingernails in a photograph.
Anaemia – a condition in which people have low levels of
haemoglobin or not enough healthy red blood cells – affects over two billion
people worldwide. If untreated, it can cause severe fatigue, heart problems and
complications in pregnancy.
Tests for anaemia require blood samples and specialised
equipment that can be hard to access in the low income societies where anaemia
is most prevalent. Wilbur Lam of Emory University, Atlanta, and colleagues
wondered if smartphones could offer a simple alternative.
Previous studies have shown that the degree of paleness
in some body tissues, including the fingernail beds, is a reliable indicator of
how anaemic someone is. The skin beneath fingernails does not contain pigment,
so haemoglobin – the oxygen-carrying pigment of the blood – is the main source
of colour.
The app allows people to obtain a haemoglobin measurement
in seconds by photographing their fingernails and tapping the screen to
indicate where the nails are in the image. It uses the photo metadata to
account for and factor out ambient lighting conditions.
“Because it requires only a smartphone, our app enables
anyone to screen themselves for anaemia at any time – all they need to do is
download the app,” says Lam.
The measurement is based on a database of photos of
fingernails from people with known haemoglobin levels. Although not as accurate
as a blood test, it may be sensitive enough to be useful for screening groups
that have a high risk of anaemia, such as the elderly, pregnant women and young
children. However, it will need further testing with larger numbers of people
to confirm its accuracy before being widely used.
The app can be made more accurate by personalising it
with a specific person’s measurements. That could make it useful for people who
have been diagnosed to monitor their anaemia painlessly at home, says Lam.
Lam’s team are also working on using smartphones to
assess jaundice, a yellowing of the skin and eyes caused by liver disease.
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