Ruby Health

I love the concept of this but found it can become inaccurate. For example. I get a cbc ran often as I have Polycthemia Vera. I also have blood removed routinely because of my disease over producing red blood. I was trying to use this as a additional tool but find it becomes inaccurate over time. When I input my labs it then requires me to calibrate by taking another picture of my nails. Which for me is a problem as I also had a phlebotomy (blood removal) after my cbc. I can’t get around the calibration which also changed future readings to be higher than they are as the app can not differentiate the fact that I had 500 ml blood removed. What would be helpful as someone who really wants this to work due to a chronic blood cancer, would be to bypass calibration if needed. Perhaps a check box to skip calibration. Because once you input labs you have to do calibration and when I do that it messes with all future readings. So to bypass this I have had to create a whole new account with no calibration history. I really want this tool to be beneficial to me as having a chronic blood cancer where I make too much blood. I do not substitute this for Dr Care. I use in conjunction. The only work around I have for now is to do new account and make sure when entering lab results that I also do the calibration immediately when I get the lab results. Which is fine but now I have to do this at Dr Office right before they take 500 ml of blood. If I forget because I am being drained of my blood there is no way to bypass this calibration. Even reset the data feature in app might be useful. Deleting each input does nothing to correct. I’ve already tried.

As the developers have stated there’s room for improvement with this app, and I’m excited for a day when it does provide reliable results. For a healthy individual, this is a great option to give you an idea. Unfortunately, for those that actually need this, it’s not reliable yet. I have faith that maybe someday it will be though! As a mom of a kiddo with hemolytic anemia, conditions with the same symptoms, on top of delicate and difficult veins; this would be an absolute game changer. We’re only a month into this nightmare, and truthfully I haven’t really known when it was time to take her in since the first time she was hospitalized. That was only because she was ghost white with a yellow tinge and couldn’t keep anything down. Four transfusions and two hospitalizations later, I’m constantly second guessing myself. Is it her POTS, autonomic dysfunction, or is she hemolyzing again?? This poor kid is a tough poke, her veins go flat or blow extremely easily; so her poor arms are covered in bruises from draws and IV’s. When we tried the app we had decent natural lighting, her first reading was 11.3 the second a few minutes later was 14.5. When I tried myself it said 10.3, which I know from recent bloodwork is no where close to accurate (not even the +\- 2.4 points). I’m hopeful that development and research continues because this would be so amazing for IMHA and anemia patients in general.

So I found this app from an ad on Facebook and thought ‘What the heck might as well give it a try.’ I just got done donating as I type this. I tested myself right in front of the guy and not 2 minutes later was doing the actual hemoglobin check with their machine. The app showed a 14.5 and their test came back with 13.7. I was impressed and the guy was shocked as all get out. I was expecting a difference of two mnumbers but it being that close was amazing. Definitely will keep and continue tracking.