Ruby Jackson, a 23-year-old student midwife at the University of Brighton, has developed an app, “Melanatal,” to address gaps in the recognition of maternal and neonatal conditions on Black and brown skin.
Her app aims to educate both clinicians and patients on how conditions such as jaundice, pre-eclampsia, and mastitis appear on darker skin tones, a subject historically underrepresented in medical training.
Bridging the Knowledge Gap in Maternal and Neonatal Health
Jackson’s inspiration for Melanatal came during her placement at a neonatal unit in Ghana, where she realized that key symptoms—like jaundice—present differently on darker skin.
She had previously been taught to look for “yellow skin,” which isn’t always applicable to Black or brown patients.
This moment led her to understand how easily signs could be missed, prompting her to develop a solution.
The app, currently in development, will feature hyper-realistic medical illustrations and aims to reduce race-based health inequalities.
“This app will help provide the much-needed information for black and brown women who are nearly four times more likely to die in pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum in comparison to white women,” Jackson told University of Brighton.
“Through Melanatal, clinicians can get better knowledge to care for black babies who have the highest rate of both stillbirth and neonatal death.”
Recognition and Support from the NHS
Jackson’s approach has not gone unnoticed as she earned a place on the prestigious ‘NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme,’ which provided her the opportunity to pitch Melanatal to healthcare technology leaders, including Amazon Web Services and Cogniss.
In June, Jackson was named a winner in a global digital health challenge, securing 12 months of mentorship and business support to bring her app to life.
Currently preparing for her graduation and piloting the app in collaboration with UK’s National Health Service (NHS) trusts, Jackson hopes Melanatal will become a critical tool for improving maternal and neonatal outcomes for Black and brown families in the UK.
Feature Image Credit: The BBC
