The neonatal jaundice, a yellowing of the skin caused by high levels of bilirubin in the blood that can cause serious medical conditions in newborns, is a leading cause of death and brain damage in infants in low- and middle-income countries.
Now, Japanese researchers They have developed the first portable devices, wearables, to accurately monitor jaundice.
60 to 80% of all newborns
Jaundice occurs in 60 to 80% of all newborns. Real-time monitoring of jaundice, therefore, is essential for neonatal care. Continuous measurements of bilirubin levels can help improve the quality of bilirubin treatments.
Currently, medical professionals use portable bilirubinometers to measure bilirubin levels, but there is no device that can simultaneously measure jaundice and vital signs in real time. According to the researchers:
We have developed the world's first portable multi-vital device for newborns that can simultaneously measure neonatal jaundice, blood oxygen saturation and pulse rate.
Directed by Hiroki Ota, associate professor of mechanical engineering at the Graduate School of Systems Integration at Yokohama National University, andShuichi Ito, a professor in the department of Pediatrics at Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, the team published their results March 3 in Science Advances.
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The news
The first wearable for babies that accurately monitors jaundice, something that affects the majority of newborns
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.