The bilirubinometer test measures the amount of bilirubin in babies' blood.
The addition of a small bilirubinometer, the size of a shoe box, can make dramatic changes in a neonatal unit.
According to one laboratory manager, bringing the bilirubinometer test out of the laboratory and closer to the patient allows them to act and make decisions more quickly.
The change has saved money and time, and most importantly has kept the babies healthy and safe.
Bilirubin is produced by the liver to break down old red blood cells.
However, some newborns' livers are not fully developed and levels of bilirubin may be too high, which can cause jaundice and other complications, such as kernicterus, which can result in brain damage.
In the past, this laboratory had to use a courier to deliver samples for testing from the clinic to the lab at the main hospital and turnaround times were averaging three to four hours.
Pathology staff started planning a new process, researching and testing different instruments that would allow a test to be done at point of care for immediate results.
The Reichert Unistat Bilirubinometer was placed in eight paediatric point-of-care units, enabling results to be obtained in a few minutes.
It is suitable for testing all skin types and ethnicities, and measures total serum using photometric technology.
The results from a third-party study determined that the correlation between the Unistat and the diazo jendrassik-Grof method was 99 per cent.
