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. 2019 Feb 14;10(3):1250-1256.
doi: 10.1364/BOE.10.001250. eCollection 2019 Mar 1.

Jaundice Eye Color Index (JECI): quantifying the yellowness of the sclera in jaundiced neonates with digital photography

Terence S Leung  1 , Felix Outlaw  1 , Lindsay W MacDonald  2 , Judith Meek  3
Affiliations

Jaundice Eye Color Index (JECI): quantifying the yellowness of the sclera in jaundiced neonates with digital photography

Terence S Leung et al. Biomed Opt Express. .

Abstract

The sclera is arguably a better site than the skin to measure jaundice-especially in dark-skinned patients-since it is free of skin pigment (melanin), a major confounding factor. This work aims to show how the yellowness of the sclera can be quantified by digital photography in color spaces including the native RGB and CIE XYZ. We also introduce a new color metric we call "Jaundice Eye Color Index" (JECI) which allows the yellowness of jaundiced sclerae to be predicted for a specific total serum bilirubin level in the neonatal population.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest related to this article.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
(a) Original image in RGB. Grayscale images of (b) blue pixel values, and (c) blue chromaticity values. The intensity profiles in (d) show that blue pixel values (solid lines) vary over a much greater range for a given ball than blue chromaticity values (dashed lines). The difference can also be seen in (e), which profiles the percentage deviation from each ball median.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Sclera colors for 87 newborns plotted on the CIE XYZ chromaticity diagram. The blue line is the axis for the Jaundice Eye Color Index. The TSB of each newborn is color-coded.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Mean blue chromaticity values versus total serum bilirubin in newborn sclera (n = 87).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
The Jaundice Eye Color Index (JECI) versus TSB. The horizontal color bar displays the yellowness of sclera corresponding to a specific TSB under D65 illuminant.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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