A smartphone-based tool could greatly expand outpatient screening for jaundice and reduce the cost of determining which newborns need serum bilirubin measurements. For resource-poor areas of the world, where kernicterus continues to be a serious problem, the effect could be transformative. Though this study sample was racially diverse, further confirmation of the app's effectiveness is needed in larger populations across many types of settings. Bilirubin estimates made by a smartphone camera-based app were highly correlated with total serum bilirubin and predictive of high-risk bilirubin levels.
Outpatient evaluation of newborn jaundice relies on methods that are either unreliable (visual estimation) or expensive (transcutaneous and/or serum measurements). Smartphones may offer an inexpensive, widely available option for diagnosis based on digital imaging. Researchers correlated…
