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BLIS: Bilirubin Level Identification System

Serum Bilirubin Assessment

 

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Membership level
2011-2012 Team
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Team Name
BLIS: Bilirubin Level Identification System
Project Title
Serum Bilirubin Assessment
Design Challenge
Our team will focus on determining a protocol for the assessment of bilirubin concentrations suitable for the developing world. Current methods utilizing diazo reagent reactions, colorimetry, and spectrophotometry are not feasible in resource-poor settings that lack trained laboratory personnel, funding for consumables, or the ability to buy and maintain expensive optical equipment. We will research possible techniques and technologies that can assess bilirubin levels within limits identified by health care professionals in the developing world. The device must be accurate, low cost, and affordable by clinics in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, reproducible, portable, and simple to use, not requiring consumables or complex calculations.
Design Summary
Our team will focus on determining the efficacy of a protocol for the assessment of bilirubin concentrations suitable in the developing world. Such a protocol will enable accurate diagnosis of jaundice, elevated bilirubin levels in the blood, and thereby indicate which neonates require prompt treatment. The need for this protocol stems from several key observations.

Every year, over 9.3 million newborns in developing countries require treatment for neonatal jaundice. Visual inspection is the primary method used in the developing world, but is subjective, highly inaccurate, and often leads to improper treatment. Current diagnostic methods are unsustainable in resource-poor settings, due to expensive optical equipment, high per test costs, and complexity.

With the above motivations in mind, we have established a set of constraints and corresponding objectives. These constraints include: < 10 cents/test, limited reagents, no unnecessary exposure to needles and blood, minimal lab training to administer the test, and a test time less than 10 minutes. Our research objectives include: accuracy to the level of diagnostic protocols used in U.S., especially those levels that are clinically significant; affordable to patients in the developing world through the use of cheaper consumables; minimal amount of blood; and easy to use with limited medical training.

The strategy behind this project is highly motivated by recent advancements in the field of direct spectrophotometry. Devices like the Hb-Quick and HemoCue, which measure hemoglobin levels in small blood samples loaded into plastic cuvettes for anemia assessment, illustrate the potential for a similarly portable device that measures bilirubin levels with whole blood. In fact, Steinke et al. (2001) modified a hemoglobinometer to measure bilirubin in whole blood by altering the wavelengths used by the device. However, devices like the Hb-Quick and HemoCue still utilize expensive, plastic cuvettes that cost in excess of $1 per test. Also, the most accurate
bilirubin concentration measurement protocols use serum instead of whole blood to effectively eliminate hemoglobin’s spectroscopic interference with bilirubin, which requires an additional centrifugation step.

Therefore, our strategy is three-pronged: (1) We will compare paper cuvettes to plastic; (2) we will determine whether samples of whole blood spiked with bilirubin can be accurately measured in place of serum from centrifuged samples; (3) we will ascertain which algorithm best isolates the effects of bilirubin from those overlapping effects of hemoglobin. We hope to provide support for the feasibility of an accurate protocol that utilizes cheaper consumables and a simpler procedure, thus paving the way for an effective diagnosis of jaundice
worldwide.
Sponsors
BTB, HHMI, OEDK
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Department(s)
  • Global Health Technologies
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Faculty Advisor 1 - Name
Dr. Maria Oden
Faculty Advisor 2 - Name
Dr. Rebecca Richards-Kortum

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Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen
Rice University

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Phone: 713.348.OEDK

Email: oedk@rice.edu

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