Anemia is a condition that results in low hemoglobin concentration in the blood. As per WHO, more than 1.6 Billion people suffer from this condition worldwide. Although most anemia cases can be cured with a balanced diet, it’s detecting the condition, which is a problem in areas with little access to medical facilities. The traditional diagnosis of anemia involves an invasive procedure that requires blood testing. To address these challenges and make anemia screening easier, Bosch has developed a portable and compact, AI-powered hemoglobin monitor designed to revolutionize the way anemia is diagnosed. The device will particularly be a boon for the areas where routine medical care is not available.
This device uses a non-invasive method to rapidly and safely screen a large number of people. Instead of using blood tests, this device uses a finger scanner that uses multi-wavelength spectrophotometry on the skin surface. The optical sensor in the device precisely and painlessly measures the photoplethysmogram (PPG) signals that detect pulsatile changes in blood volume.
With the ability to measure hemoglobin within just 30 seconds, even for low hemoglobin concentrations, this device is sure to give a huge boost to WHO’s fight against anemia.
But why is it so important to maintain healthy hemoglobin levels? Keeping the hemoglobin levels in the normal range is very important because it is responsible for carrying oxygen throughout the body, and a low hemoglobin count can result in serious complications. Some of the low hemoglobin symptoms include breathlessness, general fatigue, pale skin, weakness, and even serious illnesses.
The revolutionary device, which has been named a CES Innovation Award Honoree in the “Health and Wellness” category, utilizes the power of AI to simplify the method of anemia screening. Using a unique algorithm, changes in the light’s wavelength are monitored, and 27 different characteristics are used to determine the hemoglobin concentration in the blood.
The algorithm has been trained with more than 10,000 clinically collected anemia data.
This clinical data and the ground truth data provide a firm ground for the machine learning algorithm.
Besides being a fast, reliable, and painless technology, it also reduces the risk of infection from contaminated needles. What makes this revolutionary hemoglobin monitoring device more user friendly is that it isn’t battery operated and doesn’t need to be calibrated subsequently.
While the news of its release and its advanced features have surely got healthcare professionals excited, the real test will be after its release in Mid-2021.
