New Jaundice Meter Helps Protect Development of Infants

Dräger (Lübeck, Germany) now offers the Jaundice Meter JM-105 by which caregivers can noninvasively measure bilirubin levels in newborns as young as 24 weeks gestational age. Screening with this device can reduce or even eliminate painful, repeated blood-draws with possible long-term consequences particularly in young patients. A study of premature infants from the 24th week showed that repeated pain experiences can affect the maturation of neuronal structures which may adversely affect brain and emotional development. Instead of the often used approach of testing infants for total serum bilirubin (TSB) (via blood-draws from the heel), jaundice can be diagnosed reliably and painlessly with transcutaneous bilirubin screening (TcB). Studies have shown that noninvasive measurement results correlate with bilirubin levels collected by venipuncture. Study results have also shown that TcB measurements were comparable with TSB values for premature babies from the 24th week gestational age.

"Until now, jaundice screening as early as the 24th week gestational age was not yet approved for use in many countries. The JM-105 contributes to reducing painful examinations for these tiny patients, thereby supporting their development," said Inken Schroeter, product manager at Dräger.

The Dräger JM-105 jaundice meter also simplifies measurement as well as reduces monetary and environmental cost by much reducing consumables compared to blood-draw based methods. The measurement is taken by gently pressing the sensor on the infants's forehead or sternum. All device functions can be controlled using a color touch screen. The sensor is easily cleaned with rubbing alcohol before every screening process. Since the device is reusable, usual disposable products are no longer needed.

Paper use and manually entering or transferring measured values are things of the past with the JM-105 – all readings and data are stored in the device and can be transferred electronically to the clinic's PDMS (Patient Data Management System) by placing the device in a docking station and using a USB connection. The JM-105 enables data transfer via the interface standard HL 7 (Health Level 7).

The JM-105 stores up to 100 readings in its patient history. A nurse can label abnormal values by attaching a flag symbol to a patient’s measurement so the clinical team can later locate the patient more quickly for further assessment. The device configuration setting can be adjusted to take a single measurement or up to five measurements for an average value. This means the meter can identify newborns at increased risk for hyperbilirubinemia with higher accuracy.

Dräger and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) have awarded the 2013 “Bernhard Dräger Award” to Evangelia Akoumianaki, who investigates the causes for respiration muscle contractions during mechanical ventilation (reverse triggering) of sedated intensive care patients. She will also explore whether this reverse triggering can be detected noninvasively.

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