DOWNLOAD THE APP AND CHECK IF YOU HAVE ANEMIA

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Anemia is the most common blood disorder, a symptom of reduced amount of hemoglobin and red blood cells. It already affects more than 2 billion people worldwide and it’s usually diagnosed by blood tests, however now, you can download the application on your smartphone and check if you have anemia just by taking picture of your fingernails.

Source: private gallery

Wilbur Lam and his team at Emory University created an algorithm, which detects anemia by assessing the concentration of hemoglobin from the color of people’s fingernail beds, cause the fingernail color is a good indicator of the blood’s hemoglobin levels.

Fig. 1

Source: nature.com

Researchers conducted a four-week study, which involved 337 people, inclouding healthy people and those who were not tested for anemia. Now that the application is known to work, researchers are working on improving it and making the app more user-friendly, to release it next year.

Of course, the app is not as precise as a blood test, but it’s much more accessible and cheaper than seeing a doctor. Lam says:

“So often when you’re talking about medical equipment and devices you’re talking about, okay, we’ve got the data, now we have to make a prototype, and then from that prototype, we have to manufacture. We don’t need any of that. This project is as nimble as the way Uber would change its interface.”

 

References:

https://www.technologyreview.com/the-download/612510/an-app-can-tell-if-you-might-have-anemia-by-looking-at-your-fingernails/?fbclid=IwAR2GvtycZ2hpm0P5Yf2DgZs_hJ6237hdFF7wCWJJ9l2OHglNNNP6JpGzshY

https://thenextweb.com/apps/2018/12/05/a-new-mobile-app-can-detect-anemia-without-a-blood-test/

https://www.fastcompany.com/90275927/take-a-photo-of-your-fingernail-and-this-app-can-tell-if-you-have-anemia?fbclid=IwAR0KuzbCCwJShqts1qv0TRk62xlHKKTe5cztnX3G9gnkL7SENvyPJDq07_A

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2 thoughts on “DOWNLOAD THE APP AND CHECK IF YOU HAVE ANEMIA

  1. Słowik Tomasz says:

    I think apps like this are step in the good direction. They will never be as good as an actual blood test, but for the people who are busy and don’t have time to visit a doctor this might be an easy way to see if everything is ok. It all comes to the fact how well this app can detect such conditions. Everyone have heard about people who googled their conditions and they found out they have cancer(when they actually had cold or were just tired). This is a huge thing you need to take into account when conducting such a test.
    I wouldn’t myself rely only on that, but it can open a window which is needed to develop similiar apps in the future. From this point creators of the app can go in many different directions and help a lot of people who actually suffer from conditions which can be detected by “naked eye”

  2. Marchelewska Karolina says:

    As it is one of the most common diseases the application is without no doubt useful but whether is it accurate is another question. It surely can be helpful in terms of encouraging people to make a visit in hospital to actually check their health. If the application would be accurate in 100% then it would improve our lives and make them easier. Maybe for now is just wonderland but someday it can be our reality. Increasing our awareness could improve our day to day life and protect us from another life threatening diseases, so we should all hope that the application will be working well.

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