Fluorescence spectral classification of iron deficiency anemia and thalassemia

Abstract

Thalassemia (Thal), sickle cell anemia, and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) are the most common blood disorders in many parts of the world, particularly in developing countries like India and Bangladesh. The wellestablished diagnostic procedure for them is the complete blood count (CBC); however, there is substantial confusion in discrimination between Thal and IDA blood samples based on such CBC. We propose a new spectral technique for reliable classification between the above two anemias. This is based on the identification and quantification of a certain set of fluorescent metabolites found in the blood samples of patients of Thal and IDA. © The Authors.