14 August 2016 (Sunday) - Non-Invasive?

Here’s food for thought… non-invasive bilirubin measurement means premature babies can be treated without having to be poked with needles to have blood removed. In theory this is wonderful for the babies.

“The new transcutaneous jaundice meters are the most technologically advanced models available to screen for newborn jaundice, which affects approximately 60% of all babies.  Held against a newborn’s chest the meters measure jaundice by analyzing the spectrum of light reflected by the skin.  It is a painless, non-invasive test with immediate results.

“This testing has eliminated a significant number of painful newborn heel pokes and provides important information for follow up and treatment that extends into the community by the nurses of the Healthy and Home program,” says Julie Smith-Fehr, Manager of the Maternal & Newborn Care Unit/Healthy & Home for the Saskatoon Health Region. “One immediate result in hospital is that parents don’t have to wait for lab work which means happier families because discharge is seldom delayed. Moreover, the meters have the capacity to quickly identify newborns that are truly at risk.”

Bearing in mind that it operates by analyzing the spectrum of light reflected by the skin I’d be intrigued to know just how the devices are calibrated and controlled. The whole idea of these machines presupposes that the numbers coming out of the device are actually reliable.

I’d like to know more about them.