Dataset Information

Smartphone-based diagnostic for preeclampsia: an mHealth solution for administering the Congo Red Dot (CRD) test in settings with limited resources.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Morbidity and mortality due to preeclampsia in settings with limited resources often results from delayed diagnosis. The Congo Red Dot (CRD) test, a simple modality to assess the presence of misfolded proteins in urine, shows promise as a diagnostic and prognostic tool for preeclampsia. We propose an innovative mobile health (mHealth) solution that enables the quantification of the CRD test as a batch laboratory test, with minimal cost and equipment.

Methods

A smartphone application that guides the user through seven easy steps, and that can be used successfully by non-specialized personnel, was developed. After image acquisition, a robust analysis runs on a smartphone, quantifying the CRD test response without the need for an internet connection or additional hardware. In the first stage, the basic image processing algorithms and supporting test standardizations were developed using urine samples from 218 patients. In the second stage, the standardized procedure was evaluated on 328 urine specimens from 273 women. In the third stage, the application was tested for robustness using four different operators and 94 altered samples.

Results

In the first stage, the image processing chain was set up with high correlation to manual analysis (z-test P < 0.001). In the second stage, a high agreement between manual and automated processing was calculated (Lin's concordance coefficient ?c = 0.968). In the last stage, sources of error were identified and remedies were developed accordingly. Altered samples resulted in an acceptable concordance with the manual gold-standard (Lin's ?c = 0.914).

Conclusion

Combining smartphone-based image analysis with molecular-specific disease features represents a cost-effective application of mHealth that has the potential to fill gaps in access to health care solutions that are critical to reducing adverse events in resource-poor settings.

SUBMITTER: Jonas SM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7814923 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Smartphone-based diagnostic for preeclampsia: an mHealth solution for administering the Congo Red Dot (CRD) test in settings with limited resources.

Jonas Stephan Michael SM Deserno Thomas Martin TM Buhimschi Catalin Sorin CS Makin Jennifer J Choma Michael Andrew MA Buhimschi Irina Alexandra IA

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA 20150529 1

<h4>Objective</h4>Morbidity and mortality due to preeclampsia in settings with limited resources often results from delayed diagnosis. The Congo Red Dot (CRD) test, a simple modality to assess the presence of misfolded proteins in urine, shows promise as a diagnostic and prognostic tool for preeclampsia. We propose an innovative mobile health (mHealth) solution that enables the quantification of the CRD test as a batch laboratory test, with minimal cost and equipment.<h4>Methods</h4>A smartphone ...[more]

PMID: 26026158

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundMore efficient methods to detect and treat precancerous lesions of the cervix at a single visit, such as low-cost confocal microscopy, could improve early diagnosis and hence outcomes. We piloted a prototype smartphone-compatible confocal micro-endoscope (SCME) among women presenting to a public cervical cancer screening clinic in Kampala, Uganda. We describe the piloting of the SCME device at an urban clinic used by lower cadre staff.MethodsWe screened women aged 18 and 60 years, who presented for cervical cancer screening at the Kawempe National Referral Hospital Kampala, and evaluated the experience of their providers (nurses). Nurses received a 2-day training by the study doctors on how to use the SCME, which was added to the standard Visual Inspection with Acetic acid (VIA)-based cervical cancer screening. The SCME was used to take colposcopy images before and after VIA at positions 12 and 6 O'clock if VIA negative, and on precancer-suspicious lesions if VIA positive. We used questionnaires to assess the women's experiences after screening, and the experience of the nurses who operated the SCME.ResultsBetween November 2021 and July 2022, we screened 291 women with a median age of 36 years and 65.7% were HIV positive. Of the women screened, 146 were eligible for VIA, 123 were screened with the SCME, and we obtained confocal images from 103 women. Of those screened with the SCME, 60% found it comfortable and 81% were willing to screen again with it. Confocal images from 79% of the women showed distinguishable cellular features, while images from the remaining 21% were challenging to analyze. Nurses reported a mean score of 85% regarding the SCME's usefulness to their work, 71% regarding their satisfaction and willingness to use it again, 63% in terms of ease of use, and 57% concerning the ease of learning how to operate the SCME.ConclusionOur findings demonstrate the feasibility of using the SCME by lower cadre staff in low-resource settings to aid diagnosis of precancerous lesions. However, more work is needed to make it easier for providers to learn how to operate the SCME and capture high-quality confocal images.

Project description:BackgroundIn sub-Saharan Africa, the disease burden from skin diseases, including skin-related neglected tropical diseases (skin NTDs), is extremely high. These diseases often are overlooked due to limited access to health care stemming from, for example, remote geographical locations and a lack of experts. To address these gaps, we developed a mobile health app, eSkinHealth, which is a field-adapted platform to serve as a portable electronic patient chart and for teledermatology.ObjectiveThe purpose of the study is to evaluate the usability and effectiveness of the app in rural Côte d'Ivoire for diagnosing and managing skin NTDs and other skin diseases.MethodsA 2-arm trial with local health care providers and patients with skin diseases was implemented over a 3-month period. The providers were assigned to an intervention receiving the eSkinHealth app or control with usual care. Four nurses and 8 community health care workers participated in each arm. The training was provided on the use of the app to the intervention arm only, while both arms were trained on skin diseases. For the usability study, we evaluated our approach with the System Usability Scale (SUS) and in-depth interviews. For the effectiveness study, our primary outcome was to evaluate the detection and management of 5 skin NTDs as our targeted diseases, namely, Buruli ulcer, leprosy, lymphatic filariasis, scabies, and yaws, using the eSkinHealth app. Procedures of our methods were reviewed and approved by the institutional review board of the Ministry of Health and by Tulane University.ResultsThe mean age of our participants (providers) was 40.5 and 42.5 years for the intervention and control arms, respectively, and all were male (n=24). The average SUS scores taken from the intervention arm at baseline, the midpoint (6 weeks), and the end of study (12 weeks) were 72.3 (SD 11.5), 72.3 (SD 12.4), and 86.3 (SD 10.8), respectively. All participants interviewed, including 4 dermatologists and program managers, were satisfied with the app. Especially community health care workers felt empowered by being equipped with the tool. A total of 79 cases of skin NTDs were reported in the intervention arm as compared to 17 cases in the control arm (P=.002). Besides the skin NTDs, more skin diseases and conditions were reported from the control than from the intervention arm (P<.001). However, 100 cases (66%) were not given any particular diagnosis in the control arm and were documented only as a "dermatosis." In the intervention arm, 151 cases (72.9%) were diagnosed within the eSkinHealth platform, and the remaining were diagnosed on-site by dermatologists.ConclusionsThe study provided evidence for the usability and effectiveness of the eSkinHealth app embedded into our surveillance approach to improve the detection and management of skin NTDs and other skin diseases in Côte d'Ivoire and, furthermore, is expected to contribute to knowledge on mobile health approaches in the control of skin diseases in resource-limited settings.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT05300399; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05300399.

Dataset Information

Smartphone-based diagnostic for preeclampsia: an mHealth solution for administering the Congo Red Dot (CRD) test in settings with limited resources.

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Smartphone-based diagnostic for preeclampsia: an mHealth solution for administering the Congo Red Dot (CRD) test in settings with limited resources.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets