TrueHb Hemometer

I got mine

How accurate is this device? My son is 20 months old and its always been a big big problem to find his vein for hb testing or blood tranfusion. he has been pricked for 10, 10 times at hands, feet everywhere when the nurses cant find his vein.
If this machine is good then i will surely order it.

Zara,

I am not satisfied with this device and service i got. It is very tricky and difficult to achieve accuracy. I do not recommend it with my first impression.

I found something very interesting.

http://www.mbr-optical-systems.com/en/mbr-optical.htm

wow just if it is accurate wala!!

the study and other products http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25123051

I am just thinking of potential of such ultra low running cost easy to use non invasive hemoglobin measurement in mass screening activity.

I had this device on my list. In short, because I am on my mobile phone:
- It is really expensive and not built for the private market.
- Some blood donor services use it to test potential donors.
- There are some tests that come to the conclusion that it is not accurate enough for certain purposes.
- I once wrote to the company, but they never answered.

My father went to donate blood today, so I asked him to test the TrueHb Hemometer for a comparison. We didn't handle it perfectly (no wiping with alcohol, no third drop, etc.), but still got a result: 15,3 g/dL. He then went to donate blood and I asked him to write down the result and what device had been used. As I had imagined, it was a HemoCue, precisely a 'HemoCue Donor Hb Checker'. Result: 16,0 g/dL.

Given the fact that all such portable devices are usually not able to determine the Hemoglobin as precisely as in a laboratory and that we possibly made a few small mistakes during the procedure with the TrueHb Hemometer, I'm kind of impressed that the derivation was below 5%. (We don't know which device was closer to the 'real' value, though, as we do not have any laboratory results to compare.)

Just wanted to inform you people.

zara Hassan,
are you looking for Hb device or vein-finder device .. ifyou are looking for vein finer device then maybe its the answer to your question .. .

http://www.henryschein.com/us-en/images/dermatology/Aesthtics_Brochure_05.18.12.pdf

Umair

Hello Umair
 We have got a vein locator machine. My husband ordered it from America . It is not the one which you mentioned but some other company and a smaller one but unfortunately nurses here in Pakistan don't know how to use it. I want to know if the hb hemometer gives accurate result or not so we can check our son's hb at home and he will be pricked less times.

The TrueHb Hemometer website claims the device has a '<5% tolerance in 4-20 mg/dL range and large testing temperature range (5 - 45 deg Celsius)'. It works somehow like a regular glucometer if you have ever seen/used one.

The different HemoCue devices should also be in that range and those are used by the German [I live in Germany.] red cross in some locations to check if a donor is eligible to donate blood (minimum Hb value necessary to donate).

My guess would be that if it is only the Hb you want to measure, any of the mentioned meters might help to do so. If handled carefully and properly, they should be accurate enough to atleast tell you when it is time to visit the doctor for an exact test and therefore increase the intervals between the laboratory tests and help to avoid trauma for tests that would, for example, only show 'everything is still OK' [with the Hb].

I'd wait for Andy to comment on this one, because there are a lot of other values in those laboratory tests that I am not familiar with.

Zara Hassan,
Vein Locater , is a useful device ,, its sad to hear that nurses at your place dont know how to operate that... if you dont mind may i ask you where do you live in Pakistan ??.... usualy we (elder thals) dont feel need to do Hb test often/regularly other than transfusion time ... i feel that doing this stuff at home would be an extra durden on your son , only chelation alone is a big burden to go through.. so i would suggest you to not irritate your child with extra stuff that could make him feel that he is sick or having something unusual ... to give him a healthy life , you should set n remember onething in your mind :
1) he is a normal child with a slight mutation so he is living with a condition not with diseas..
2) you should behave to him like he is a normal...
3) alwasy treat him like normal kids ..
4) dont over-protect him (it is the main and biggest probleme for a thalassemic to face)...
5) never say him that ""leave it boy , you cant do this, its too hard for you"",,, always encourage him to fulfill his dreams and work hard for his dream but never let him ignore his treatment,, and if he ever say i cant do this,,  tell him to try you can do this ...
6) never let him take advantage of his diseas e.g drop out from school etc ... never let him to use his diseas as excuse ...

Best Regards
Umair


@ Andy , Shamin sis , Zaini sis   and Manal Sis ..
please correct me if i m wrong ... 
 

Umair,

I could not agree with you more.  What you say is true and very very important.  It is great receiving an opinion from an adult thal - we have much to learn from you nicefriend  

It is essential to allow children to have no more interference than is necessary.  Excessive testing etc. can aggravate the situation.  As Umair has said, the more "normalcy" and as few reminders that something is wrong is important.  While it is important to inform and empower them, it is far more important to emphasize their abilities and what they have to be grateful. 

Sharmin

Sharmin ,
 

Thanks a lot umair, sharmin and everyone.
Umair I live in Azad Kashmir but we go to rawalpindi every month for our son's transfusion. All the things you said were totally right and I will definitely follow them.  I always try my best to give my son a normal life.

Zara Hassan,
my pleasure ... best of luck  ... from which center in Rawalpindi uo take your kid for transfusion ?? ,, did you ever visited ""Pakistan Baitul-maal Thalassemia Center "" ?? that is a state of the art thalassemia center... i would sugest you to visit that center as soon as possible when-ever you go to Rawalpindi next time ....

I just received this yesterday. Did a test and it reported 11. I had BT last Thursday. Pre-transfusion Hb was 9 so seems accurate. But we'll see as I will compare during next transfusion with lab reports. Nice little device and very convenient.

Now it is more important than ever for me to monitor my hb as I have started Dr. Ramanan's treatment and as I will need to let my hb drop, I'll have to keep a watchful eye.

Costed Rs 5000 ($78 approx) and Rs 1500 ($23) for 50 test strips.

Will keep you guys updated.