Innovation
An innovation in the fight against anaemia
A simple, low-cost and non-invasive test through a device could help in the fight against anaemia.
Being inspired from doctor friends working in rural area, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduate Myshkin Ingawale has come up with a solution that would be easy for healthcare workers — often untrained — to use in the field to measure Hb level and degree of anemia. The device — a pulse oximeter known as TouchHb — is a non-invasive method of monitoring the oxygenation of Hb using light without the prick of a needle. The patient is attached to the machine via a finger clip. Anaemia is the reduction of haemoglobin (Hb), an oxygen carrying molecule of blood. More than half the anaemia cases can easily be cured with a course of free iron pills, but if left untreated it is potentially fatal, especially for pregnant women. A similarly non-invasive device was perfect because healthcare workers in rural area are often not trained to conduct blood tests using needles and lack the equipment to assess the results of such tests. With this simple test, available in the community, there is much greater likelihood of spotting and subsequently treating anaemia specially crucial for pregnant women who need frequent test to measure Hb.
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