eprintid: 10204534
rev_number: 7
eprint_status: archive
userid: 699
dir: disk0/10/20/45/34
datestamp: 2025-02-11 10:07:14
lastmod: 2025-02-11 10:07:14
status_changed: 2025-02-11 10:07:14
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
sword_depositor: 699
creators_name: Wemyss, Thomas Alan
creators_name: Rana, Anubhuti
creators_name: Hillman, Sara L
creators_name: Nixon-Hill, Miranda
creators_name: Yadav, Kapil
creators_name: Dadhwal, Vatsla
creators_name: Leung, Terence S
title: Diagnosing anaemia via smartphone colorimetry of the eye in a population of pregnant women
ispublished: pub
divisions: UCL
divisions: B02
divisions: B04
divisions: D11
divisions: F42
divisions: G12
note: Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
abstract: Objective. Screening for disease using a smartphone camera is an emerging tool for conditions such as jaundice and anaemia, which are associated with a colour change (yellowing in jaundice; pallor in anaemia) of the external tissues. Based on this, we aimed to test a technique to non-invasively screen for anaemia in a population highly affected by anaemia: pregnant women in India. In this group, anaemia can have severe health consequences for both the mother and child. Approach. Over 3 years of data collection, in 486 pregnant women in India, we attempted to replicate a previously successful smartphone imaging technique to screen for anaemia. Using smartphone images of the eye and eyelid, we compared two techniques (white balancing and ambient subtraction) to control for variation in ambient lighting, and then extracted 'redness' features from images, which we used as features to predict anaemia via statistical modelling. Main results. We found that we were not able to predict anaemia with enough accuracy to be clinically useful, at 89.6% sensitivity and 26.1% specificity. We consider the hypothesis that this may be due to pigmentation on the sclera and palpebral conjunctiva. Visual judgement showed that pigmentation on the sclera, which may affect the measured colour, is more prevalent in pregnant women in India than in preschool aged children in Ghana (a population previously studied in this context). When participants with subjectively judged visible scleral pigmentation are removed, ability to screen for anaemia using the smartphone images slightly improves (93.1% sensitivity, 28.6% specificity). Significance. These findings provide evidence to reinforce that applying smartphone imaging techniques to understudied populations in the real world requires caution—a promising result in one group may not necessarily transfer to another demographic.
date: 2025-01
date_type: published
publisher: IOP Publishing
official_url: https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6579/adab4d
oa_status: green
full_text_type: pub
language: eng
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
verified: verified_manual
elements_id: 2354057
doi: 10.1088/1361-6579/adab4d
medium: Print-Electronic
lyricists_name: Wemyss, Thomas
lyricists_name: Leung, Terence
lyricists_name: Hillman, Sara
lyricists_id: TAWEM65
lyricists_id: TSTLE21
lyricists_id: SMANN54
actors_name: Leung, Terence
actors_id: TSTLE21
actors_role: owner
full_text_status: public
publication: Physiological Measurement
volume: 13
number: 1
article_number: 01NT01
event_location: England
issn: 0967-3334
citation:        Wemyss, Thomas Alan;    Rana, Anubhuti;    Hillman, Sara L;    Nixon-Hill, Miranda;    Yadav, Kapil;    Dadhwal, Vatsla;    Leung, Terence S;      (2025)    Diagnosing anaemia via smartphone colorimetry of the eye in a population of pregnant women.                   Physiological Measurement , 13  (1)    , Article 01NT01.  10.1088/1361-6579/adab4d <https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6579%2Fadab4d>.       Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10204534/1/Wemyss_2025_Physiol._Meas._13_01NT01.pdf