In vitro determination of skin bilirubin using chromatic modulation

A clinical examination system is presented to analyse the yellowness presented on the skin of premature newborn babies, namely transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB). The system is based on chromatic modulation methods to extract, process and analyse data in order to determine the spectral chromaticity of a baby´s tissue without taking blood samples. Chromatic bilirubin monitoring tests have shown a high correlation and a linear relationship between serum bilirubin (SB) and a chromatic parameter, namely Hue angle (H). The chromatic TcB results are highly predictive of SB levels in neonatal babies. The proposed chromatic system can be used to make decisions about transfusions or phototherapy in neonates, hence acting as a screening device to determine when a laboratory measurement of SB is needed.