On the Effective Differentiation and Monitoring of Variable Degrees of Hyperbilirubinemia Severity Through...

The presence of abnormal amounts of bilirubin in the blood stream and skin, usually referred to as hyperbilirubinemia, is associated with a wide range of pathologies that can pose considerable risks for human health. The early and effective screening of the severity degrees of this medical condition can play an important role on the selection of the appropriate treatment for the associated pathologies. This, in turn, can minimize the need for more aggressive and costly therapeutic interventions which can themselves pose considerable risks for morbidity and mortality. The current noninvasive protocols used to differentiate these severity degrees, however, are hindered by the relatively limited knowledge about the impact of different amounts of extravascular bilirubin on skin spectral responses and on the onset of jaundice, the resulting yellow-tinted skin appearance. In this paper, we address this open problem through controlled in silico experiments supported by measured data provided in the related literature. Our experimental findings bring biophysically-based insights to bear on the clarification of this biomedical entanglement, and unveil optical features that can potentially lead to more effective screening protocols for the noninvasive differentiation and monitoring of variable degrees of hyperbilirubinemia severity.