Screening neonatal jaundice based on the sclera color of the eye using digital photography

A new screening technique for neonatal jaundice is proposed exploiting the yellow discoloration in the sclera. It involves taking digital photographs of newborn infants' eyes (n = 110) and processing the pixel colour values of the sclera to predict the total serum bilirubin (TSB) levels. This technique has linear and rank correlation coefficients of 0.75 and 0.72 (both p<0.01) with the measured TSB. The mean difference ( ± SD) is 0.00 ± 41.60 µmol/l. The receiver operating characteristic curve shows that this technique can identify subjects with TSB above 205 µmol/l with sensitivity of 1.00 and specificity of 0.50, showing its potential as a screening device.