John, please state for us exactly what your specialty is in the field of medicine. What kind of a doctor are you? Do you have first hand experience with the testing of babies in hospitals? I am not trying to flame you.
Let me give you a scenario: A baby is born and a routine "Chem 23" is performed. It shows an elevated bilirubin level. All other levels are normal. Wouldn't a non-invasive machine like the Colormate tend to be used instead of drawing blood 3-4 times a day to monitor the baby's bilirubin?
I can tell you from personal experience (3 babies) that all 3 of my girls had elevated levels that had to be monitored by the nurses.
Here is some information from the Mt. Sinai Journal Of Medicine Oct '94. Remember this hospital did the clinical testing for Chromatics.
mssm.edu
.............To avoid some of the known problems with transcutaneous devices, we are in the midst of evaluating a computerized photosensor (Chromatics) that takes advantage of a wealth of information on skin tone available to s the cosmetics industry. Instead of registering the simple change in skin color caused by bilirubin, the Chromatics meter can measure minute alterations in any one of a vast array of human skin types. This patient-specific analysis takes account of race and skin perfusion and, in effect, allows the computer to "see bilirubin" below the surface. Preliminary results (45 ' ) suggest a degree of accuracy and linearity not available in other f devices. Surprisingly, phototherapy does not seem to interfere with the measurement, even though infants, while being treated, appear less jaundiced to the eye, This suggests that the depth of measurement by this new device exceeds that which influences the visual assessment of skin color.
The value of the Chromatics meter, or any other screening tool, ultimately rests on the clinician's need to measure bilirubin in the newborn. The trends toward extremely early discharge after delivery, cost containment, and decreases in medical interventions should increase our requirements for simple and safe methods of determining which infants have more than just "physiologic" jaundice. If we couple this with a rational use of phototherapy, and newer treatments to eliminate hyperbilirubinemia, the incidence of significant hyperbilirubinemia may be reduced......... |
