This new technology is based on a non-invasive system that allows to find symptoms of the disease without the need to take blood samples.
Dr. Mirko Zimic, director of the Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology Laboratory at the UPCH (Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia), funded by the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion (MIDIS), developed a software to detect anemia called AnemiaApp. With this new technology, tests to detect possible anemia will stop causing physical discomfort and inconvenience due to lack of time or distance issues.
The MIDIS opted for non-invasive methods to diagnose this disease, which in Peru affects 43.5% of children under three years of age. It is also a matter of inclusion, as the South American country has remote areas of medical care that can help infants who need an accurate diagnosis. With the new technology it will be possible to provide children in poverty conditions a constant and effective monitoring.
The app works this way: the first step is to take some pictures of the lower eyelid with a mobile phone; Then some basic data such as age and sex must be completed; this information is sent to a data center located at Cayetano Heredia University where, in real time, servers receive the information, process the image and estimate the hemoglobin level to get the final result.
To achieve most accurate results, Artificial Intelligence is used to ensure that programmed algorithms are able to analyze the image and from its characteristics identify potentially risk cases. Tests are needed from individuals who have the symptoms of anemia so that, based on the physical aspects they present, the application can learn on its own when faced with a case of anemia.
To achieve a perfection in the results of the analyses, more image samples will need to be added to the built database so that the program is strengthened with more detection experience. "The application records the intensity of the color or the degree of paleness, as well as the degree of vascularity", concluded Zimic, who from the start had the vision of benefiting the minor population in the sense of reducing their stress caused by needles; with this solution you it will no longer need to itch to take blood samples.
