Non-invasive eye checkup can detect anaemia: Study

As anaemia is common among adolescent girls in India, this can not only help in its diagnosis and treatment but also in improving their overall health.

3 min readPuneMay 18, 2022 02:31 PM IST

This service will make it easy for all such individuals to take care of their health at the comfort of their home. (Pixabay)

Now an eye checkup using a non-invasive device may well help diagnose anaemia (low levels of haemoglobin in blood), especially during eye screening programmes in schools that mainly identify and treat refractive errors, a new study published in the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology has said. As anaemia is common among adolescent girls in India, this can not only help in its diagnosis and treatment but also in improving their overall health.

“There is fear of a needle prick which can often be a barrier for detecting anaemia, especially among school children,” Dr Parikshit Gogate, Pune-based consulting ophthalmologist and lead author of the study, titled ‘Eye screening can be used to perform anaemia screening and treatment in adolescent girls using ToucHb’, told The Indian Express.

“We used a non-invasive eye screening device (ToucHb), an instrument designed to measure the haemoglobin level in the body by looking at the colour of the capillaries in the conjunctiva,” Dr Gogate said.

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TouchHb is a non-invasive anaemia screening instrument that works by illuminating and taking an image of the exposed conjunctiva of an individual with visible light. It is intended for screening purposes in primary health care settings. It was calibrated and validated in four institutes (Blood bank of civil hospital, Thane; Central hospital, Ulhasnagar; Seth G S Medical College, Mumbai and L V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad) and won the Anjani Mashelkar Inclusive Innovation Award in 2018.

The device was used during secondary school eye screening and door-to-door eye screening to estimate haemoglobin concentration in the body. Around 1,511 girls in the age group 10-19 were examined as part of the study that was conducted in 2019-2020.

Dr Supriya Phadke and community eye care workers Parveen Shaikh and Shabana Shaikh conducted the screening while Rotary Club of Poona Downtown lent ToucHb to Community Eye Care Foundation.

“We found that at least 949 (62.8 per cent) had haemoglobin levels less than or equal to 9g/dL. During the door-to-door eye screening, 588 adolescent girls in the Phulenagar area also underwent anaemia screening. Of the 588 girls, 116 (19.7 per cent) had a haemoglobin level of 9 or less. We followed them up for three months and distributed tablets and anti‐helminthic drugs that had helped improve their haemoglobin levels,” Dr Gogate said.

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According to the recent National Family Health Survey-5, at least 67 per cent children below five years (6-59 months) and 57 per cent women in the 15-49 age group have anaemia.

“While there are numerous programmes for mother and child care, there are very few for girls in the 12‐18 years age group, crucial years for their growth and development. Through ‘Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan’ and the national programme for control of blindness, eye screening activity in schools has been carried out extensively for the past two decades,” Dr Gogate said.

“School teachers are reluctant to do anything invasive with the children, especially girls as it needs parental consent, which may be difficult to obtain. This study hence shows how measuring haemoglobin levels of adolescent girls can be done during an eye examination using the non-invasive device,” Dr Gogate said.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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