Project FAQ's

• Who comprises the project team?
• Ajaay Ravi,student of 4th Year Engineering,ECE Department,SRM Institute of Science and Technology
• Avantika Vardhan ,student of 4th Year Engineering,ECE Department,SRM Institute of Science and Technology
• Most importantly,our project guide is Mrs.Shanthi Prince,Assistant Professor in the ECE Department of SRM Institute of Technology
• Mrs.Shanthi Prince is a postgraduate from the Indian Institute of Technology,Madras and is currently pursuing her Ph.D from SRMIST
• Why is this project being executed?
• This project is the final-year undergraduate thesis as per the requirements of SRM Institute of Science and Technology for the completion of the B.Tech course in Electronics and Communications (ECE)
• What is the project title?
• Currently, our project has been titled "Screening Tool To Detect Neonatal Jaundice by Means of Using Optical Sensors."
• What are the objectives of this project?
• The main objective of this project is to create a tool to detect Neonatal Jaundice by means of optical sensor based instrumentation.
• We also have some secondary objectives, such as:
• Creating a Monte-Carlo simulation using Matlab that enables us to enhance our accuracy and verify our results
• Performing Technology-Transfer to make our instrumentation viable for practical use
• Collecting data samples that test for the validity of the screening tools amongst a cross-section of skin characteristics such as colour.
• Why did you choose this specific project?
• India is a developing country with a strikingly high rate of infant mortality. Although jaundice is not a primary reason for this problem, children with jaundice often develop fatal complications.In addition, the rural areas and even urban hospitals are ill-equipped in terms of jaundice diagnosis.For instance, in the whole of Chennai, only Apollo Hospitals has a neonatal jaundice diagnostic lab.
• Jaundice at the time of birth could result in brain diseases such as kernicterus later on.Our country does not have the health care facilities to help the common man deal well with this dangerous condition
• Jaundice diagnosis by screening is an exciting area in biomedical engineering and we wish to tailor the existing solutions to suit Indian skin-colors and conditions
• Invasive procedures expose the child to the risk of trauma,infection and deadly killers such as AIDS if the needles are not properly disinfected and used.Thus, we chose to develop a non-invasive procedure
• What areas does your project deal with?
• Our project is interdisciplinary in nature,i.e. it deals with and requires a knowledge of varied branches of study,as stated below.
• Electronics and Instrumentation : This will deal with the basic part of constructing the instrumentation for the jaundice screening tool
• Electro-Optics: Since the basis of the sensors used is optical, the branch of electro-optics is central to the project
• Biomedical Engineering: This field is required for applying the knowledge of the two fields mentioned before, for the specific application in the biomedical field
• Skin Histology,Anatomy and Dermatology: It is important to know the properties and structure of the skin to create skin samples and design a simulation of skin structure
• Jaundice - related Medical Science: We have tried to understand the mechanisms involved in bilirubin production which leads to jaundice in order to design the instrumentation correctly.
• Neonatology: The screening tool we have devised is uniquely designed for neonates.i.e.newborn babies.Thus the data related to skin absorption spectra and skin characteristics, and the intensity of light that the baby will withstand,all make it different from screening jaundice in general.
• What is the timeline associated with your project?
• We have already had a Zeroth Review ( the Review proceedings will be posted here) in the end of November
• Our First Review is to be held on 24th January
• Our Second and Third Reviews will be held in the end of the months of February and March respectively
• We may also have a Final Examination in which External Evaluators will award marks to our project
• Could you give us a brief overview of the instrumentation associated with your project?
• We are basically using an LED(Light emitting Diode) as a light source which illuminates the skin of the newborn via optical fiber probes
• The output i.e. absorption and reflectance data are measured by means of instrumentation consisting mainly of a photodiode and an operational amplifier circuit
• The output will be measured using a reflectance meter built by us using prevalent laboratory based calibration techniques
• Does your project involve collecting experimental data?
• Yes,in our final phase we plan to test our instrument on new born babies who are normal and also those with varying degrees of jaundice
• This will be done with the help of hospitals and testing laboratories around Chennai
• Will the experimentation be risk free?
• Fortunately,the main advantage of this project is that the instrumentation is completely risk free
• For instance, the high power laser-based instrumentation that is used for adults is replaced in our project by an LED light source with very low levels of light intensity-similar to a flashlight or torch