Overcoming barriers in anemia screening: The aspen Hb meter's role in resource-limited settings

Anemia is a critical global health concern affecting 1.6 billion people, with a significant burden in resource-limited settings, particularly affecting women, children, and individuals with chronic illnesses. Accurate and accessible diagnostic tools are essential for timely anemia detection and management. This study evaluated the performance of the Aspen Hb meter, spectrophotometry-based hemoglobin estimation device, compared to the Mindray BC-6000 Automated Hematology Analyzer. A total of 2,279 venous and capillary blood samples were analyzed across diverse populations, including children, women, and men. Statistical analyses revealed high sensitivity (venous: 97.78%; capillary: 96.87%), specificity (venous: 95.65%; capillary: 95.22%), and accuracy (venous: 96.77%; capillary: 96.04%) with overall 97.33% sensitivity, 95.43% specificity and 96.40% accuracy for the Aspen Hb meter. Linear regression demonstrated strong correlation coefficients (R² > 0.98) between the two methods, with minimal bias in Bland-Altman analysis (mean difference: 0.05 g/dL). Group-wise assessments highlighted consistent performance across demographic categories, with the device achieving high positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV). Compared to traditional and portable methods like HemoCue, the Aspen Hb meter exhibited superior diagnostic reliability, particularly for capillary samples. Its portability, ease of use, and adaptability to low-resource settings make it a valuable tool for point-of-care anemia screening and public health interventions.