ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT03866213Updated Jun 7, 2024

Validation of a Jaundice Diagnostic and Monitoring Device for Low-Resource Settings

An observational study in Hyperbilirubinemia, Neonatal and Jaundice, Neonatal, sponsored by William Marsh Rice University. Recruiting at 3 sites in 2 countries. Open to participants aged 0 Days to 28 Days. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-06-07.

Primary conditionJaundice, NeonatalRegistry: Hyperbilirubinemia, NeonatalReclassifiedWhy we changed it
Registry
Hyperbilirubinemia, Neonatal — the first condition term the registry derived for this study.
ClinicalTrials.gg
Jaundice, Neonatal
Why
  1. The study's listed conditions name Jaundice, Neonatal, a narrower term within Hyperbilirubinemia, Neonatal.
Confidence
High: the new condition is named in the study's own listed conditions. Of 351 hand-checked studies reclassified this way, 68% were exactly right and 84% in the right disease family; the registry's first term was right for 5% (measured 2026-10-21). How we classify →
Wrong?
Tell us the study's main condition →

Sponsored by William Marsh Rice University · Observational

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was expected by Aug 2024, 2 years 2 months ago, but the record still lists the study as recruiting.
  • Started Aug 2019; still recruiting 7 years 3 months later.
Study type
Observational
Model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
1,000
Ages
0 Days to 28 Days
Sex
All
01

Study summary

A team of researchers at Rice University in partnership with clinicians at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital created BiliSpec, a low-cost battery-powered reader designed to immediately quantify serum bilirubin levels from a small drop of whole blood applied to a lateral flow strip. The simple and affordable BiliSpec system offers a faster and more cost-effective means to detect neonatal jaundice in under-resourced clinics and determine when phototherapy is needed. The goal of this study is to validate the accuracy of the BiliSpec device in measuring bilirubin levels in neonates relative to the laboratory spectrophotometric bilirubinometer and transcutaneous bilirubinometer measurements.

Read the detailed description

This study will validate the accuracy of the BiliSpec device in measuring bilirubin levels in neonates relative to a laboratory spectrophotometric bilirubinometer (Reichert UNISTAT® Bilirubinometer) and transcutaneous bilirubinometer measurements.

This study will enroll up to 500 neonates at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital and Kamuzu Central Hospital each, for a total of up to 1000 neonates, at risk for jaundice based on clinical signs and symptoms or undergoing phototherapy for treatment of jaundice. During the pilot study, 100 participants were evaluated and 147 samples total were collected. However only 7 samples collected were over 20 mg/dL. In addition to confirming the accuracy of BiliSpec in this validation study, enough samples of clinically high bilirubin concentrations (>20mg/dL) will need to be collected to ensure the device functions properly over the intended dynamic range (0-35 mg/dL). To accomplish this, data from up to 500 participants at each location will be collected.

Informed consent will be requested from the parents of all eligible babies on the ward for this study. If the guardian does not consent, the patient's bilirubin levels will be assessed using the standard of care on the ward.

During the study, the following steps will be taken:

The trained study nurse will assess the subject for clinical complications before performing the necessary heel prick blood draw.

  • A transcutaneous measurement of bilirubin and a heel stick will be performed on the neonate by a trained study nurse or clinician.
  • One drop of blood will be collected on the sample card and immediately used for analysis. BiliSpec will be operated by a trained nurse or trained research assistant.
  • Another drop of blood, collected in a capillary tube, will be centrifuged and then measured using the laboratory spectrophotometric bilirubinometer (Reichert UNISTAT® Bilirubinometer 1310310C). The spectrophotometric bilirubinometer will be operated by trained research assistants from the Rice department of bioengineering and the University of Malawi. Bilirubin concentration values measured by the gold standard laboratory bilirubinometer will be used to guide diagnosis.

Measurements will be made at multiple time points as indicated clinically.

The neonatal bilirubin concentration in mg/dL will be determined using the BiliSpec device, the gold standard laboratory spectrophotometric bilirubinometer, and the transcutaneous bilirubinometer described in the testing procedure. Measurements of bilirubin levels will be compared. All data will be recorded using a pre-determined data collection form. Analysis of the usability and robustness of BiliSpec will also be performed with regards to usability and device function by maintaining a log of any user error in using the device and a log of any observed device malfunctions. Data will also be collected on the effectiveness of BiliSpec to monitor neonates undergoing phototherapy.

Personal identifiers will be removed and confidentiality of the subjects will be strictly preserved. The data will be kept on a secure server accessible only to the study personnel.

02

Conditions studied

  • Hyperbilirubinemia, Neonatal
  • Jaundice, Neonatal

Browse trials for

Keywords

  • Diagnostic
  • Point-of-Care
  • Low-Resource Setting
03

In context

Jaundice, Neonatal Reclassified

110 studies on the registry are indexed under Jaundice, Neonatal; 28 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 1,000 is above the median of 405 across 27 observational studies indexed under Jaundice, Neonatal.

Browse Jaundice, Neonatal studies →

Lead sponsor

William Marsh Rice University is the lead sponsor of 17 studies on the registry; 7 are open to participants now.

Compared within Jaundice, Neonatal, this study's primary condition as ClinicalTrials.gg classifies it; the registry's first condition term is Hyperbilirubinemia, Neonatal. The counts are of registry records indexed under each term, refreshed daily. How we classify →

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
0 Days to 28 Days
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

Patients currently being treated at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital or Kamuzu Central Hospital in the neonatal ward, who are less than 28 days old (neonate), and deemed to be at risk for jaundice or the patient is undergoing blue light phototherapy for treatment of jaundice.

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • The patient is currently being treated at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital or Kamuzu Central Hospital in the neonatal ward.
  • The patient is less than 28 days old (neonate).
  • The patient is deemed to be at risk for jaundice or the patient is undergoing blue light phototherapy for treatment of jaundice.
  • The patient's parent or guardian has provided for their child to participate.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Parent or guardian is unable or unwilling to provide .
  • The patient is unable to receive a blood draw/heel stick as determined by their clinician.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

05

Study design

Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
1,000 participants (estimated)
Patient registry
No

Groups and cohorts

  • Quantitative Measurement of Bilirubin

    Bilirubin content of the neonate will be measured by the following: BiliSpec, laboratory spectophotometric bilirubinometer (Reichert UNISTAT), and transcutaneous bilirubinometer. The infant may or may not be receiving phototherapy treatment at the time of sample measurement.

    Diagnostic Test: BiliSpec

Interventions

  • Diagnostic testBiliSpec

    BiliSpec will quantitatively measure the bilirubin content of a neonatal blood sample.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Device Accuracy

    Bilirubin content measured by the BiliSpec device compared against the Reichert UNISTAT laboratory spectophotometric bilirubinometer as well as a transcutaneous bilirubinometer.

    Time frame: Total duration of hospital stay while inclusion criteria are met (<10 minutes per sample)

07

Study locations

2 of 3 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Keahey PA, Simeral ML, Schroder KJ, Bond MM, Mtenthaonnga PJ, Miros RH, Dube Q, Richards-Kortum RR. Point-of-care device to diagnose and monitor neonatal jaundice in low-resource settings. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Dec 19;114(51):E10965-E10971. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1714020114. Epub 2017 Dec 4. PubMed 29203650 ↗
  • Shapiro A, Anderson J, Mtenthaonga P, Kumwenda W, Bond M, Schwarz R, Carns J, Johnston R, Dube Q, Chiume M, Richards-Kortum R. Evaluation of a Point-of-Care Test for Bilirubin in Malawi. Pediatrics. 2022 Aug 1;150(2):e2021053928. doi: 10.1542/peds.2021-053928. PubMed 35799070 ↗

Study documents

PDFs hosted by the registry, ClinicalTrials.gov.

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — De-identified individual participant data for all primary outcome measures will be made available.

Supporting information: Study protocol, Informed consent form

Time frame: Data will be available within 6 months of study completion.

Access criteria: Data access requests will be reviewed by an external Independent Review Panel. Requestors will be required to sign a Data Access Agreement.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jun 7, 2024, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03866213
Lead sponsor
William Marsh Rice University
Collaborators
Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH)
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Mar 7, 2019
Start date
Aug 1, 2019
Primary completion
Aug 31, 2024 (estimated)
Completion
Aug 31, 2024 (estimated)
Last update
Jun 7, 2024

Study contacts

Rebecca Massey, MPH, BSN, RN
Contact
rebecca.elias@rice.edu
713-348-6574
Meaghan Bond, PhD
Contact
meaghan.mc.bond@rice.edu
Rebecca Richards-Kortum, PhD
principal investigator · William Marsh Rice University
Maria Oden, PhD
principal investigator · William Marsh Rice University
Queen Dube, MD
principal investigator · Kamuzu University of Health Sciences
Msandeni Chiume, MD
principal investigator · Kamuzu University of Health Sciences

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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