AJO-Neo : Device to Measure Neonatal Bilirubin Level

• 31 Jul 2020

Why in News

Recently, researchers from the S.N. Bose National Centre For Basic Sciences (SNBNCBS), Kolkata have developed a device called “AJO-Neo '' to measure neonatal bilirubin level.

• SNBNCBS is an autonomous research Institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India.

Key Points

• Description:
  
  • AJO-Neo is a non-contact and non-invasive spectrometry-based technique for measurement of neonatal bilirubin level without limitations of other available bilirubin meters.
  • Bilirubin is a yellowish substance in the blood. It forms after red blood cells break down, and it travels through liver, gallbladder, and digestive tract before being excreted.
    
    • It is a necessary process in the body's clearance of waste products that arise from the destruction of aged or abnormal red blood cells.
• Significance:
  
  • The screening of bilirubin level in new-borns is necessary to reduce incidents of a type of brain damage called kernicterus that can result from high levels of bilirubin in a baby's blood.
    
    • Kernicterus leads to Neuro-psychiatry problems in neonates.
• Advantages:
  
  • It is reliable in measuring bilirubin levels in preterm, and term neonates irrespective of gestational or postnatal age, sex, risk factors, feeding behavior or skin color.
  • The device delivers an instantaneous report (about 10 seconds) to a concerned doctor.
    
    • The conventional “blood test” method takes more than 4 hours to generate the report.

Source: PIB