Non-invasive neonatal jaundice determination using smartphone camera

Neonatal jaundice is one of the common clinical conditions where the bilirubin levels are above the normal condition, which needs medical attention. It is important to the early determination of neonatal jaundice, especially in a rural area with limitations of medical instruments for bilirubin determination. This research was performed to determine neonatal jaundice using a smartphone camera. The smartphone was used to capture the arm of the neonatal. The arm images were then analyzed using ImageJ software to extract the color intensity of red, green and blue (RGB). The color intensity and the blood bilirubin concentration of neonatal were analyzed to obtain the linear regression. The results showed the blue (B) color intensity had a high correlation (R2=0.8081, y= -4.968x+165.97) with blood bilirubin concentration of neonatal observed. This study showed an important aspect of the use of smartphone camera for early detection of neonatal jaundice as an alternative of the visual assessment mainly in remote area when the laboratories analysis is not immediately available.