Our Science
Sufficient healthy red blood cell count is the paramount sign of blood health. Anemia, a modern Latin term from Greek anaimia (an- ‘without’ + haima ‘blood’) is determined by the amount of hemoglobin that is in the red blood cells in the blood. We may be used to seeing around us low hemoglobin level manifest in mild symptoms such as dizziness. But if unattended and prolonged, this can kill.
Low Hgb levels can occur for any number of reasons:
Largely from Iron deficiency (especially for kids, women of reproductive age, pregnant women, elders, and any malnourished individuals)
Blood loss, hemorrhagic post-trauma (such as ER, EMT setting)
Cancer patients and treatments
Diseases involving red blood cell abnormality, such as sickle cell diseases, thalassemias, autoimmune diseases or induced by drug exposure or mechanical stress
Major organ diseases of the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys
Chronic diseases such as HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Infectious diseases, especially parasitic diseases
Combination of any of the above
The gold standard and most common way of diagnosing measuring blood hemoglobin is a laboratory serum hemoglobin test by taking venous blood samples via needle. This method, however, is invasive, cumbersome, expensive, takes a long time (especially in low-resource settings), and is not always easily available or accessible.
Clinical examination of paleness in the inner eyelids, the nailbed, the tongue, and the palm has been extensively studied. Among the examination sites, inner eyelids provide a better clinical sign for anemia, because the underlying micro-vessels are easily seen. Using digital photography and inner eyelids to quantify blood hemoglobin has received attention, particularly. Thus far, the technology has lacked sensitivity and specificity for different levels of clinical anemia.
The tragedy is, solutions to treat low hemoglobin can be easy, readily available, cheap, and most importantly prevent longer-term consequence down the generation.
Our science addresses the problem of a gap in access to blood hemoglobin testing.
Compressive recovery of smartphone RGB spectral sensitivity functions
OSA Publishing
mHealth spectroscopy of blood hemoglobin with spectral super-resolution
OSA Publishing