Jaundice Screening App Developed for Newborns in Singapore

Jaundice Screening App Developed for Newborns

Infants undergo screening for jaundice during the first few weeks of their lives. This typically involves frequent clinic visits, which can be inconvenient and worrisome for parents, especially during the early postpartum period.

To address these concerns, a new app has been developed to allow parents to check for jaundice in the comfort and safety of their own homes. The app, jointly developed by Singapore General Hospital (SGH), SingHealth Polyclinics (SHP), and national healthtech agency Synapxe, takes readings from the chest and abdomen and works with both lighter and darker skin tones.

This is a significant improvement over existing apps, which often only take a single point of reference, such as the forehead, and may not be accurate for babies with different skin tones. Additionally, the app takes into account the varying degrees of yellowness that can occur in different parts of the body.

Dr. Alvin Ngeow, principal investigator and senior consultant at SGH's Neonatal and Developmental Medicine Department, noted that the app was developed with the challenges faced by parents in mind. Parents often experience lack of sleep and postpartum blues, and the app aims to alleviate some of the stress associated with jaundice screening.

This innovative app has the potential to improve the lives of both parents and newborns by providing a convenient, accurate, and stress-free way to screen for jaundice.