CERTIFICATION

The undersigned certify that he has read and hereby recommend for examination/ acceptance
of project report entitled Automatic Phototherapy Machine Using Light Detection
Technique, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Diploma in Biomedical
Equipment Engineering of Mbeya University of Science and Technology.

______________________________________
Mr. Omar R. Kombo
(Supervisor)

Date: ___________________________

i
 DECLARATION
We, hereby, declare that this submission is our own work towards Diploma of Biomedical
Equipment Engineering and that to the best of our knowledge, it contains neither material
previously published by another person nor material which has been accepted for the award
of the University or any programmed.

Name Signature Date

Lazaro T. Siptek
Kelvin O. Manase
Pius Simon

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to the Almighty God for giving us the
strength, wisdom, and guidance throughout the entire project. His grace has been our constant
source of inspiration and motivation. We would also like to extend our heartfelt appreciation
to our parents for their unwavering support, encouragement, and prayers. Their love and
sacrifice have been our driving force throughout the project. Our special thanks go to our
project supervisor, Mr. Omar Ramadhan Kombo for his invaluable guidance, support, and
mentorship. His expertise and insights have been instrumental in the successful completion of
this project. We would also like to acknowledge all the biomedical teaching staff for their
contribution to our academic and professional growth. Their dedication and commitment to
ensuring that we receive the best education have been instrumental in shaping our future.

Certainly, we would also like to thank all the individuals and organizations that provided us
with the resources and equipment needed to complete this project. Your generosity and
support have been invaluable, and we are grateful for your contributions. It is our belief that
this project has the potential to make a significant impact on the field of biomedical
engineering and beyond. Once again, we express our sincere appreciation to everyone who
has been a part of this project. Thank you all for your support, encouragement and belief in
us. In conclusion, we would like to express our sincere appreciation to all those who have
contributed to the successful completion of this project in one way or another. It has been an
incredible journey, and we are grateful for the opportunity to have worked on such an
innovative project

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 ABSTRACT
Neonatal jaundice is one of the most common diseases in newborn babies which is mostly
caused by high levels of yellow pigment that are produced when red blood cells are broken
down in the blood. However, the neonatal jaundice can be treated and the most common
procedure used is by lowering the bilirubin levels in neonate’s blood by the medical device
known as phototherapy machine. The current phototherapy machine’s system is ineffective in
ensuring the light intensity that reaches the patient is the same as required and also it is
difficult to operate, time consuming and in case of many patients at instant, it requires the
presence of many operators. So, the project was focused on designing an automatic
phototherapy machine using light detection technique that has capability to ensure the
intensity of light that reaches the patient is as required.

The prototype comprised of the different components including 12V DC power supply that
was used to power the system of the prototype, Arduino uno which was used for controlling
the operation of the input devices and output devices of the system. The input devices such as
push buttons which were used to allow operator to control the phototherapy and interact with
the machine, and the light dependent resistor (LDR) that was used to detect the intensity of
light that was reaching the patient. The output devices of the system consisted of liquid
crystal display (LCD) that was used to display the intensity of light that reached the patient as
well as prompting the operator to set the light intensity required, blue LEDs circuit was used
to provide blue light for treatment of neonatal jaundice. And also, the prototype consisted of
the motor driver, stepper motor and the pulley system which were collectively used to move
the blue LEDs circuit up or down to decrease or increase the intensity of light reached the
patient. At the end of the project, the designed prototype was able to ensure the intensity of
light reached the patient matches conforms to that set by the operator. The designed prototype
of the phototherapy machine will help to ensure the intensity of light that reaches the patient
is as required and so provides better treatment of the neonatal jaundice, facilitate the
treatment procedures and the control of the phototherapy machine.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

iv
CERTIFICATION....................................................................................................................I
DECLARATION.....................................................................................................................II
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT....................................................................................................III
ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................IV
LIST OF FIGURES...............................................................................................................VI
ABBREVIATION................................................................................................................VII
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................1
1.1 BACKGROUND...................................................................................................................1
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT......................................................................................................2
1.3 OBJECTIVES......................................................................................................................2
1.3.1 Main Objective..........................................................................................................2
1.3.2 Specific Objectives....................................................................................................2
1.4 PROJECT SIGNIFICANCES..................................................................................................3
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW.......................................................................4
2.1 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................4
2.2 FUNCTIONALITY................................................................................................................4
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY..............................................................................5
3.1 OVERVIEW........................................................................................................................5
3.2 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS...................................................................................................5
3.2.1 Software requirements..............................................................................................5
3.2.2 Hardware requirements.............................................................................................6
3.3 DESIGN...........................................................................................................................17
3.4 BLOCK DIAGRAM............................................................................................................19
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION..........................................................20
4.1 RESULTS.........................................................................................................................20
4.1.1 Circuit Simulation...................................................................................................20
4.1.2 Prototype Results....................................................................................................22
4.2 DISCUSSION....................................................................................................................26
CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION...................................27
5.1 CONCLUSION...................................................................................................................27
5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................................................................................27
REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................29
APPENDICES........................................................................................................................30
APPENDIX 1: ARDUINO CODE OF THE PROTOTYPE...............................................................30

LIST OF FIGURES

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Figure 1: Arduino Uno Board....................................................................................................6
Figure 2: 12V DC Power Supply...............................................................................................7
Figure 3: SPST Switch...............................................................................................................8
Figure 4: Jumper wires...............................................................................................................9
Figure 5: Push Button Switch....................................................................................................9
Figure 6: Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)..................................................................................10
Figure 7: Blue LED..................................................................................................................11
Figure 8: Resistors....................................................................................................................11
Figure 9: Light Dependent Resistor (LDR).............................................................................12
Figure 10: Motor Driver L298N..............................................................................................13
Figure 11: Stepper Motor NEMA 17.......................................................................................14
Figure 12: Printed Circuit Board (PCB)...................................................................................14
Figure 13: Double Pulley System............................................................................................15
Figure 14: Soldering gun..........................................................................................................16
Figure 15: Glue gun with glue stick.........................................................................................16
Figure 16: Circuit of the designed prototype...........................................................................18
Figure 17: Block diagram of automatic phototherapy machine using light detection technique
..................................................................................................................................................19
Figure 18: Circuit simulation when prompting user to set irradiance level required...............20
Figure 19: Circuit simulation when the stepper motor was running........................................21
Figure 20: Circuit simulation when the Irradiance set matches the LDR value......................21
Figure 21: Prototype’s User Interface......................................................................................22
Figure 22: Blue LEDs circuit moved down to increase light intensity faced by the patient....23
Figure 23: Blue LEDs circuit moved up to increase light intensity faced by the patient........24
Figure 24: Blue LEDs circuit stopped for phototherapy to start at required light intensity.....24
Figure 25: LCD displays irradiance level when irradiance set is the same as LDR signal......25
Figure 26: LCD displays irradiance level when irradiance set is not the same as LDR signal25

ABBREVIATION
A Ampere

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AC Alternating Voltage
APPG Automatic and Portable Phototherapy Garment

DC Direct Current

Hz Hertz

IDE Integrated Development Environment

I/O Input/Output

LCD Liquid Crystal Display

LDR Light Dependent Resistor

LED Light Emitting Diode

PCB Printed Circuit Board

SPST Single Pole Single Throw

V Voltage

vii
 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background

Neonatal jaundice or neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is one of the most common diseases in

newborn babies which is mostly caused by high levels of bilirubin in the blood (Pace et al.,
2019). Biologically, bilirubin is the yellowish pigment produced when red blood cells are
broken down. The newborn babies have high number of red blood cells which are broken
down and replaced very often. But since the newborn’s liver is not well developed, hence it is
not well effective in processing bilirubin and removing it from the blood. Approximately
60% of full-term newborn babies and 80% of preterm newborn babies develop neonatal
jaundice in the first week after birth (Anderson & Calkins, 2021). Neonatal jaundice is mostly
harmless but if it is severe and not treated for a long time may result in Kernicterus spectrum
disorder, which is a type of brain damage caused by high levels of bilirubin in a newborn’s
blood (Anderson & Calkins, 2021).

Nevertheless, the neonatal jaundice can be treated and the most common procedure used to
treat neonatal jaundice is by lowering the bilirubin levels in neonate’s blood. This procedure
is known as phototherapy and is done or operated by the instrument called phototherapy
machine. The phototherapy machine uses light absorption method to treat neonatal jaundice.
The phototherapy shines the intensified blue light on a neonate’s bare skin which is absorbed
by bilirubin. Because bilirubin is yellow in color, it is broken down in the blood allowing the
baby to excrete excess bilirubin from the body in urine and stool before it can accumulate and
cause permanent brain damage (Unicef, 2020). The blue light of wavelength 460-490 nm is
recommended for good therapeutic effect (Kato et al., 2020).

The performance of current system of phototherapy machine is not effective in facilitating the
way of providing treatment. Hence, the aim of the project is to design and develop automatic
phototherapy machine using light intensity detection technique. Our project involved
simulating a phototherapy circuit on Proteus, design of the prototype as well as testing it.
Ultimately, our project introduced new ways to improve the efficiency of treatment provided
by the phototherapy machine, facilitate how to use or operate the phototherapy machine as
well as ensuring the light intensity reaches the neonate is as the light intensity set.

1
1.2 Problem statement

The phototherapy machine has been a most used instrument for treating neonatal jaundice
non-invasively for many years, and has helped to avoid development of Kernicterus spectrum
disorder in many neonates whom have suffered neonatal jaundice. However, the current
system of phototherapy machine has some drawbacks such as it is incapable of ensuring the
intensity of light that reaches the neonate’s skin is as required or set value which makes the
phototherapy machine less effective in treating neonatal jaundice. Moreover, the current
phototherapy machines’ system involves adjusting the lights to neonate distance manually,
which makes it difficult to operate, time consuming and in case of many patients at instant, it
requires the presence of many operators in order to adjust the distance between the lights to
neonate of each and every phototherapy machine. This increases the cost due to employing
many operators, though such kind of work could be done by one operator. Therefore, the
project focused on designing a prototype of phototherapy machine with capability to first
allow operator to set a light intensity required and ensure the light intensity enters is the same
as that reaches a neonate. Also, the designed phototherapy machine facilitates the way of
operating the phototherapy machine so it can be controlled with less effort and reduce the
number of hospital personnel required to operate the phototherapy machines in case of many
patients at instant.

1.3 Objectives

1.3.1 Main Objective

The main objective of this project is to design an automatic phototherapy machine using light
detection technique.

1.3.2 Specific Objectives

i. To design a circuit of an automatic phototherapy machine using light detection

technique and simulate it on Proteus.
ii. To determine the operation of light dependent resistor (LDR) with reference to the
light intensity of phototherapy machine.
iii. To implement a prototype of an automatic phototherapy machine using light detection
technique.
iv. To test a prototype of an automatic phototherapy machine using light detection
technique.

2
1.4 Project Significances

The presence of a light intensity monitor ensures that the intensity of light reaching the
neonate is precisely as set by the operator or hospital personnel. This feature allows for
precise control and monitoring of the therapy, ensuring that the baby receives the appropriate
amount of light for effective treatment. Furthermore, the inclusion of a light intensity monitor
greatly facilitates the operation of the phototherapy machine. With real-time monitoring and
display of light intensity, medical professionals can easily adjust and optimize the treatment
settings. This functionality streamlines the process and enhances the overall efficiency of
phototherapy, saving time and effort for healthcare providers. Moreover, the utilization of a
light intensity monitor significantly enhances the efficiency of the phototherapy machine in
treating neonatal jaundice. By constantly monitoring the light intensity and making
adjustments as needed, the therapy becomes more targeted and effective, ensuring that the
maximum benefit is achieved in combating the condition. This feature contributes to
improved patient outcomes and a faster recovery process.

In addition to efficiency, the accuracy of the phototherapy machine is greatly improved by

the incorporation of a light intensity monitor. This monitoring system provides precise
measurements, ensuring that the desired light intensity is consistently delivered to the
neonate. The accuracy of the treatment is paramount in addressing neonatal jaundice
effectively, and the light intensity monitor plays a crucial role in achieving this accuracy. The
presence of a light intensity monitor allows for simultaneous monitoring of the light intensity
or irradiance level that reaches the patient during phototherapy. This feature provides
valuable information to healthcare providers, enabling them to monitor and assess the
progress of the treatment. By having real-time data on the light intensity, medical
professionals can make informed decisions regarding adjustments to the therapy, leading to
better management of neonatal jaundice.

Overall, the significance of incorporating a light intensity monitor in a phototherapy machine

is multifaceted. It ensures that the light intensity delivered to the neonate is as intended,
simplifies the operation of the machine, improves the efficiency and accuracy of the
treatment, and provides valuable real-time data for monitoring and managing neonatal
jaundice effectively.

3
 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction

The good performance of the phototherapy machine plays important role in proper treatment
of neonatal jaundice. Different projects have been done to improve the performance of
phototherapy machine in various features. Halder et al. designed a non-invasive screening
device for measuring bilirubin level for neonatal jaundice using spectrophotometry technique
(Halder et al., 2019). The instrument comprised of a light source, optical fibers which used to
transmit light beam from the light source to a neonatal nail plate and a reflected light was
acquired by the spectroscopic detector. In their study, they used the LabVIEW software for
data acquisition, data analysis and calculating the bilirubin value. Similarly, another study
intended to improve the performance, enhance capabilities and reduce the cost of
phototherapy machine by designing a low-cost phototherapy light system (Cabacungan et al.,
2019). The phototherapy machine added the most useful features such as neonate visual and
auditory monitoring system, timer for recording exposure time, alarm system and use of solar
panel as power source. Shahroni and Addi developed an automatic and portable
phototherapy garment (APPG) with integrated non-invasive bilirubin detector, in which the
phototherapy garment is capable of measuring the bilirubin level non-invasively and
automatically determines the appropriate treatment period depending on the severity of
bilirubin level (Shahroni & Addi, 2018).

Although there have been great projects and prototypes designed to improve the performance
of phototherapy machine so as to facilitate the phototherapy procedure, the phototherapy
machines and prototypes designed such as the ones reviewed above have some disadvantages
such as high cost and difficult to operate. So, our project based on designing automatic
phototherapy machine using light detection technique that is affordable and easy to operate.

2.2 Functionality

The phototherapy machine is based on light detection technique in which it ensures the
intensity of light that reaches the neonate is as required or set by the operator, by firstly
allowing the operator to set the value of light intensity required then the phototherapy
machine measures the intensity of light that reaches the patient and it guarantees the set light
intensity level is the same as that reaches patient by controlling the distance between the blue

4
lights and the neonate, because the distance between the lights and neonate has huge impact
on the value of light intensity that reaches the patient (Zardosht et al., 2019).

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

3.1 Overview

The prototype of the phototherapy machine used the light detection technique to ensure the
intensity of light reaches the neonate is as set and the power supply module was used to
supply electrical power to the circuit. The phototherapy machine allowed operator to set the
light intensity required, then the phototherapy machine detected the light intensity that
reached the patient with the help of light dependent resistor (LDR) and the signal from the
LDR was acquired, analyzed and computed to get the light intensity value by the
microcontroller Arduino Uno. Then the Arduino Uno provided the signal to the motor driver
that controlled the operation of the stepper motor to pull or release the rope of the pulley
system so as to move the blue lights up to decrease light intensity or down to increase light
intensity that reaches the patient depending on the light intensity value set by the user set by
the operator.

3.2 System requirements

The prototype required several electrical components, electronics components and

mechanical systems that constituted to create an easy to operate prototype of the
phototherapy machine. These components, systems and materials were categorized into two
groups, software requirements and hardware requirements which are as follows.

3.2.1 Software requirements

The design of the prototype of the phototherapy machine used two software devices which
are as explained below

I. Proteus design suite

Proteus design suite is a software application that is primarily used to simulate, design, and
drawing electronic circuits. In the project, Proteus software of version 8.13 SPO was used to
design and simulate the circuit of the prototype.

II. Arduino Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

5
Arduino IDE is an open-source software which is used to write and upload code to the
Arduino boards. In the project, the Arduino IDE was used to write the code for automating
the prototype of the phototherapy machine and uploading it to the Arduino Uno board.

3.2.2 Hardware requirements

The phototherapy machine’s system consisted of various electronic components, electrical

components and other supplement materials for implementation of the experimental works.
The required hardware components and materials used for the designing of the prototype are
explained below.

Arduino Uno

The Arduino Uno is a widely used open-source microcontroller board based on the
ATmega328P microcontroller and developed by Arduino.cc. The board is equipped with sets
of digital and analog input/output (I/O) pins. It features 14 Digital pins and 6 Analog pins.
This board can be interfaced with other Arduino boards, Arduino shields, Raspberry Pi
boards and can control relays, LEDs, servos, and motors as an output. It is programmable
with the Arduino IDE. In the project, Arduino was used as the microcontroller of the whole
prototype in which its functions included to read signals and control the operation electronic
components connected to it such as push buttons and LCD display which were collectively
used as the user interface. Also, it was used to read signal from the LDR to determine the
light intensity that reaches the patient as well as to control a stepper motor using a motor
driver by sending appropriate signals to the driver.

6
 Figure 1: Arduino Uno Board

12V DC Power supply

DC power supply is a device that creates and supplies a stable Direct Current (DC) from the
AC power supply of the outlet. DC power supply comprises of step-down transformer,
bridge rectifier circuit, filter circuit and voltage regulator which are collectively used to
convert the input AC voltage to a DC voltage that can be used in powering medical
equipment, battery charging and to power electronic components and circuits. In the project,
the two power supplies of input voltage of 110-240V AC of frequency 50/60Hz and output
voltage of 12V DC and current of 2A, one of the power supplies was used to power the motor
driver and the other was used to power all the remaining electronic components of the system
such as blue LEDs circuit, Arduino and push buttons. The prototype used two dc power
supplies because when the same power supply was used to power both motor driver and other
components of the circuit, during the operation of the stepper motor the other components
were not operating as required.

Figure 2: 12V DC Power Supply

7
SPST switches

A Single Pole Single Throw (SPST) switch is a switch that only has a single input and can
connect only to one output. This means it only has one input terminal and only one output
terminal. A Single Pole Single Throw switch serves in circuits as on-off switches.
In the project, two SPST switches were used in designing of the circuit of the prototype. One
SPST switch was used to connect or disconnect the power supplied to the blue LEDs circuit,
Arduino and push buttons, and the other switch was used to connect or disconnect the power
supplied to the motor driver.

Figure 3: SPST Switch

Jumper wires

Jumper wires are simple electrical wires used to make temporary connections between
electronic components or points on a breadboard. They are typically made of solid or
stranded wire with metal pins or connectors on each end. Jumper wires are commonly used in
prototyping, testing, and circuit building to establish electrical connections quickly and
easily. Jumper wire connectors can be inserted in the holes of the breadboard or Arduino.
They are divided into three types male to male, male to female and female to female, the
either type can be used depend on the kind of connection required. In the project, the jumper
wires of all three types were used in different electrical connections such as in connecting the
8
LCD display, push buttons, LDR, Motor driver to the Arduino and in connection between the
electronic components of the system and the supply.

Figure 4: Jumper wires

Push button switches

A push button switch is a mechanical device used to control an electrical circuit in which the
operator manually presses a button to actuate an internal switching mechanism. Push button
switches are used in a wide range of applications, including computers, crosswalks,
telephones, industrial machinery, security systems, military equipment, casino gambling slot
machines, fitness equipment, and gadgets. In the project, the push buttons were used to allow
the user to control the operation of the whole prototype including to set the light intensity
required for the phototherapy.

Figure 5: Push Button Switch

9
Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)

LCD is a common display technology used in various electronic devices. It consists of layers
of polarized panels with a liquid crystal material between them. The liquid crystal molecules
can be controlled by an electric field, which allows the display to selectively block or allow
the passage of light. There are different types of the lcd display categorized depending on the
number of columns and the rows on which characters can be displayed, examples of LCD
display include 16x2, 16x4. In the project, the lcd display of 16 columns and 2 rows(16x2)
was used to allow user to interact with the system by providing the text details on the current
operation of the prototype as controlled by the Arduino Uno for example when the prototype
prompts user to set light intensity. The lcd display was used to display useful information for
the user including the set light intensity and amount of light that reaches the patient.

Figure 6: Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)

Blue LEDs

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows
through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in
the form of photons. The color of the light (corresponding to the energy of the photons) is
determined by the energy required for electrons to cross the band gap of the semiconductor.
The prototype used twelve 5mm blue LEDs and 220 ohms resistors to design a blue LEDs

10
circuit that provided blue light for the phototherapy procedure from the 12V DC supply
voltage.

Figure 7: Blue LED

Resistors

Resistor is a passive two-terminal electrical component that implements electrical resistance

as a circuit element. In electronic circuits, resistors are used to reduce current flow, adjust
signal levels, to divide voltages, bias active elements, and terminate transmission lines,
among other uses. There are two main types of resistors which are fixed resistors and
variable resistors. Fixed resistor is a resistor having a fixed or defined electrical resistance,
while variable resistor(potentiometer) is a resistor of which the electric resistance value can
be adjusted. The prototype used fixed resistors of two values 220 ohms and 10k ohms. 220
ohms resistors were used on a blue LEDs circuit and 10k ohms resistors were used on the
LDR circuit and push button switches voltage divider circuits. Also, the prototype used a
potentiometer of 100k ohms for controlling the brightness of LCD by increasing or
decreasing its resistance.

11
 Figure 8: Resistors

Light Dependent Resistor (LDR)

Light dependent resistor or photoresistor is a passive component that decreases resistance

with respect to receiving luminosity (light) on its sensitive surface. The resistance of a
photoresistor decreases with increase in incident light intensity. A photoresistor can be
applied in light-sensitive detector circuits and light-activated and dark-activated switching
circuits acting as a resistance semiconductor. In the dark, a photoresistor can have a
resistance as high as several megaohms (MΩ), while in the light, a photoresistor can have a
resistance as low as a few hundred ohms. In the project, the LDR was used to detect the
intensity of light that reaches the patient at the bed level due to change of its resistance and
that signal was sent to the Arduino Uno for further processes.

Figure 9: Light Dependent Resistor (LDR)

Motor driver

Motor driver is an electronic device or circuit that controls the operation of electric motors. It
acts as an interface between a microcontroller or other control circuitry and the motor,
providing the necessary power, voltage, and current control signals to drive the motor. The
motor driver L298N is a popular motor driver integrated circuit (IC) used to control DC
motors and stepper motors. It is commonly used in robotics, automation projects, and other

12
applications that require precise motor control. The L298N is a dual H-bridge driver,
meaning it can control two motors independently or one stepper motor. In the project, the
motor driver L298N was acted as the interface between the Arduino Uno board and the
stepper motor providing the necessary power, voltage, and current control signals to drive the
stepper motor either clockwise or ant-clockwise depending on the control signal from the
microcontroller.

Figure 10: Motor Driver L298N

Stepper motor

Stepper motor (stepping motor or step motor) is a brushless DC electric motor that divides a
full rotation into a number of equal steps. Unlike DC motors or AC motors, which rotate
continuously, stepper motors move in discrete steps. Stepper motors are widely used in
applications that require accurate positioning, control, and repeatability. They offer several
advantages, including precise motion control, holding torque at standstill, and the ability to
maintain position without external feedback. Stepper motors are commonly found in robotics,
3D printers, CNC machines, camera platforms, and various industrial automation systems. In
the project the NEMA 17 stepper motor was controlled by the motor driver to pull or release
the string mounted on its rotor and subsequently move the blue lights attached at the end of
the string on the pulley system up or down as controlled by the microcontroller.

13
 Figure 11: Stepper Motor NEMA 17
Printed Circuit Board (PCB)

Printed circuit board (PCB) is a flat board used to connect electronic components to one
another and provides a platform for assembling and connecting electronic components. PCBs
play a vital role in electronic devices acting as a foundation for the electrical connections and
mechanical support required for proper functioning. In the project, the circuit of blue LEDs
was assembled and connected on the PCB.

Figure 12: Printed Circuit Board (PCB)

14
Pulley system

Pulley system is a mechanical arrangement of one or more pulleys and a flexible rope, cable,
or belt. It is designed to transmit force, change direction, or multiply mechanical advantage.
Pulley systems are widely used in various applications, from simple machines to complex
mechanical systems. A pulley system consists of several components, including pulleys, a
rope or belt, and a load or object being moved. The pulleys can be fixed (attached to a
structure) or movable, and they have a grooved wheel that supports and guides the rope or
belt. In the project, the double pulley system was used which had two pulleys with a rope
running around them to lift blue LEDs circuit enclosed in a box. The string was mounted on
the stepper motor’s rotor on its one end and blue LEDs circuit on the other end, and so when
the stepper motor rotated clockwise the circuit was moving up to decrease the light intensity
that reaches the patient and when stepper motor rotated anti-clockwise circuit was moving
down to increase the light intensity that reaches the patient. On the diagram below M1 was
attached to the stepper motor’s rotor and M2 was attached to the LEDs circuit.

Figure 13: Double Pulley System

Soldering gun and soldering wire

Soldering gun or soldering iron gun is a handheld tool that generates heat to melt solder and
make electrical connections. It typically consists of a pistol-shaped handle, a heating element,
a tip or nozzle, and a trigger or switch to control the power. Soldering wire or solder is a
fusible metal alloy used to create a permanent electrical connection between components. In
the project, the soldering gun and soldering wire were used to reinforce the electrical
connections of the circuit of the prototype on which a solder molten by the soldering gun
were placed and let the solder to cool.

15
 Figure 14: Soldering gun
Glue gun and sticks

Glue gun is a handheld device that melts solid glue sticks to create a liquid adhesive. It
typically consists of a heating element, a trigger mechanism, and a nozzle. The heating
element inside the glue gun heats up and melts the glue stick, allowing it to flow out through
the nozzle when the trigger is pressed. A glue stick is a solid cylindrical stick made of
thermoplastic adhesive material. It is inserted into the glue gun and melted when the gun is
heated. Glue gun and sticks were used to bond the materials together such as the enclosure of
the LEDs circuit, the enclosure of the user interface and wood base of the prototype.

Figure 15: Glue gun with glue stick

16
3.3 Design

The prototype introduced the systems which included hardware design and components
selection, software design, circuit constructions and fabrications or assembly of the parts.

The hardware design of the prototype can be divided into four parts; power supply part,
system controlling part, input devices and the output devices. In power supply part of the
circuit, two 12V DC power supplies were used, out of which one power supply was used to
power the Arduino Uno board and the blue LEDs circuit, and the second power supply was
used to power the motor driver meanwhile the push buttons and LCD were powered by
Arduino board. Two different power supplies were used so as to separate the working of the
stepper motor and the rest of the system, because if one power supply was used instead of
two the all components of the system (LEDs circuit and Arduino board) except motor driver
would not get power as required during operation of the stepper motor.

The input devices comprised of the light dependent resistor (LDR) which was used to detect
the intensity of the light that reached the patient. The LDR working principle is based on that
its resistance changes inversely proportional to the intensity of light that falls onto its
sensitive surface. So, the higher the intensity of light the lower the resistance and vice versa.
Also, the other input devices were push buttons which were used to allow user to set the light
intensity required for the phototherapy procedure as well as allowing the user to control the
operation of the machine. Three push buttons were used to enable operator to set and change
the light intensity or irradiance level required for the therapy, in which the first push button
(Up push button) was used to allow operator to increase the irradiance level required, also the
second push button (Down push button) was used to enable operator to decrease the light
intensity and the third button (Enter button) was used to enable operator to accept the set
intensity and so the phototherapy machine prototype could start operating by moving the blue
lights nearer to or farther from the patient in order to increase or decrease the intensity of blue
light that reached the patient respectively. And also, the third button (Enter button) was used
to restart the operation of the machine by long pressing it when the stepper motor was
running, and by pressing it shortly when the intensity of light that reached the patient
matched that set by the operator.

The system controlling part of the prototype comprised of the Arduino Uno board which was
used as the microcontroller of the system that controlled the operation all the input and output
devices. It was used to read the signal from the LDR and push buttons as well as determining

17
the level of irradiance that reached the patient, and then provided the control signals to the
motor driver that controlled the rotation of stepper motor whose rotor was mounted with a
rope of the pulley system, and the other end of the rope was attached with blue LEDs circuit.
And so, the blue LEDs circuit was moving up or down as the rope was sliding on the pulleys,
the up or down movement of the blue LEDs circuit was depending on the rotation of the
stepper motor. The Arduino board was also used to control operation of the LCD display.

The output devices consisted of the blue LEDs circuit and the liquid crystal display. The blue
LEDs circuit was designed consisting six parallel connections with each parallel path
consisting of two LEDs and a resistor of 220 ohms in series. The resistor was used to protect
the LEDs from high voltage of the supply (12V). This blue LEDs circuit was used to provide
blue light for the treatment of neonatal jaundice. And the LCD was controlled by the Arduino
to provide the text details that informed the user on how to interact with the system and the
way to control the phototherapy procedure

Figure 16: Circuit of the designed prototype

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3.4 Block diagram

LDR Push Buttons

Arduino Uno Board

Blue LEDs LCD Display

12V DC Power
Supply

AC Power 12V DC Power Motor Driver

Supply Supply

Stepper Motor

Figure 17: Block diagram of automatic phototherapy machine using light detection technique

19
 CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Results

4.1.1 Circuit Simulation

Our project involved the circuit design and simulation which was done using the Proteus
Professional software of version 8.13 and the Arduino code that contained the instructions
about the operation of the phototherapy machine prototype was written, compiled and
uploaded to the Arduino Uno board using the Arduino IDE software of version 1.8.13. The
circuit of the phototherapy machine designed was capable to first allow operator to set the
light intensity required for the treatment of neonatal jaundice, as well as assuring that the
light intensity or irradiance level set by the operator is the same as that reached the patient by
controlling the direction of rotation of the stepper motor to move the blue lights near to the
patient when the light intensity set is less than that reached the LDR, or to move the blue
lights farther from the patient when the light intensity set was higher than that reached the
LDR.

Figure 18: Circuit simulation when prompting user to set irradiance level required
Circuit simulation when the stepper motor was running

The simulation of the circuit showed the system was capable of rotating the stepper motor
until the irradiance measured set matched to that reached the LDR, and simultaneously
display the light intensity set and that reached the LDR when the stepper motor was running.

20
Figure 19: LCD display when the stepper motor was running
Circuit simulation when the Irradiance set matches the LDR value

When the irradiance level set was reached, the stepper motor stopped and to allow the
phototherapy procedure to begin. And the LCD displayed the light intensity set and that
reached the LDR during the therapy.

Figure 20: Circuit simulation when the Irradiance set matches the LDR value

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4.1.2 Prototype Results

The designed prototype succeeded to facilitate the way of operating the phototherapy
machine and to ensure the intensity of light that reaches the patient’s bed is the same as that
set by the operator. Also, the prototype was able to read the intensity of light that reaches the
patient with the help of the LDR placed near the patient’s bed, and by using the LCD display
and the three push buttons provided the user interface and the operator was able to set the
required intensity for phototherapy and to interact with the system.

Figure 21: Prototype’s User Interface

The Up push button and Down push button were used to allow the operator to increase and
decrease irradiance level required respectively. And the Enter button was used to allow
operator to accept or approve the required irradiance level for phototherapy.

When the light intensity set was higher than that read by the LDR, meaning the intensity of
light that reaches the patient is lower than required, the Arduino Uno board was providing the
control signals to the motor driver which subsequently controlled the stepper motor to rotate
in order to release the rope of the pulley system mounted on its rotor, and the other end of the
rope was attached on the blue LEDs circuit. So, the blue LEDs circuit was moved down to
increase the light intensity that reached the patient.

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 Figure 22: Blue LEDs circuit moved down to increase light intensity faced by the patient

Likewise, when the light intensity set by the operator was less than that read by the LDR,
meaning the intensity of light that reaches the patient is higher than required, the Arduino
Uno board was providing the control signals to the motor driver which subsequently
controlled the stepper motor to rotate in other direction, so as to pull the rope of the pulley
system mounted on its rotor, while the other end of the rope was attached on the blue LEDs
circuit. So, the blue LEDs circuit was moved up to decrease the light intensity that reached
the patient.

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 .

Figure 23: Blue LEDs circuit moved up to increase light intensity faced by the patient

Also, when the light intensity set becomes the same as that measured by the LDR, the
Arduino board commanded the stepper motor to stop and hence the Blue LEDs circuit were
held still, then the phototherapy procedure started at a required light intensity.

Figure 24: Blue LEDs circuit stopped for phototherapy to start at required light intensity

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Also, the designed prototype was capable of displaying the light intensity set by the user
before the set light intensity matched to that measured by the LDR on the patient’s bed and
after the light intensity matched. In which “Set” part of the LCD displayed the light intensity
set by the user and the “Now” part displayed the intensity of light that reached the patient at
that moment.

Figure 25: LCD displays irradiance level when irradiance set is the same as LDR signal

Figure 26: LCD displays irradiance level when irradiance set is not the same as LDR signal

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4.2 Discussion

During the designing of the prototype, there were some drawbacks we faced that constituted
to decrease the efficiency of the system such as the absence of the filter that allows only blue
light to pass through (blue light filter) caused the LDR to detect any light that fell onto its
sensitive surface and not only the blue light. Due to that the intensity of light measured by the
LDR was not very effective because it was affected by the other lights from the surrounding
environment.

Also, the use of the double pulley system caused the blue LEDs circuit to unstably move up
and down when decreasing and increasing the light intensity that reached the patient. These
drawbacks constituted a lot in reducing the efficacy of the phototherapy machine causing it to
be less effective not as we expected.

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 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Conclusion

Generally, the designed prototype of the phototherapy machine was capable of ensuring the
intensity of the light reaches the patient is as required or set by the operator and so such
design will help to provide better treatment of the neonatal jaundice to the patients. Also, the
system designed required the operator to spend just a short period of time to set the irradiance
level needed for phototherapy unlike the manually controlled phototherapy machines which
are time consuming. So, due to that one operator can control the operation of many
phototherapy machines within a short period of time. The designed system also had a
capability to display the light intensity set by the operator and the intensity of light that
reaches the patient at that moment, that will help the operator to know if there is any
obstruction of the light occurred after the light intensity was set. Also, the system was
capable of displaying the irradiance level that reaches the patient at the moment when the
stepper motor is running to conform the light intensity set to that reaches the patient, this
helps the operator to comprehend the irradiance level left for the required phototherapy to
begin. The system with these capabilities will help a lot in facilitating the treatment
procedures of neonatal jaundice as well as facilitating the control of the phototherapy
machine.

5.2 Recommendations

Despite the success of our project there were several drawbacks we faced that resulted into
decreasing the efficacy of the phototherapy machine. Due to that, there are few things that we
would like to recommend to be considered the future projects regarding automation of the
phototherapy machine in order to design a phototherapy machine that will be effective in
treating neonatal jaundice and provide better patient’s results. We recommend the future
projects to consider the following;

1. Use of filter that allows only blue light to pass through while blocking all other lights
(blue light filter). This filter should be placed before the sensitive part of the LDR in
order to allow only blue light to be detected by the LDR and so the microcontroller
could be effective in determining the intensity of the blue light that reaches the
patient.

27
2. Conforming the LDR reading to the actual reading of the light meter. The light meter
is a device that is used to measure the spectral irradiance of the blue light before the
phototherapy procedure.

3. Use more stable mechanism to move the blue LEDs circuit or blue lights up or down
to increase or decrease the light intensity that reaches the patient, such as the HPV8
linear module or linear actuator. The blue LEDs circuit mounted on either of those
devices could be more stable than using pulley system.

28
 REFERENCES
Anderson, N. B., & Calkins, K. L. (2021). Neonatal Indirect Hyperbilirubinemia. 21(11).

Cabacungan, P. M., Oppus, C. M., Culaba, I. B., & Cabacungan, N. G. (2019). Intelligent
Sensors and Monitoring System for Low-cost Phototherapy Light for Jaundice
Treatment. International Symposium on Multimedia and Communication
Technology(ISMAC), 1–6.

Halder, A., Banerjee, M., Singh, S., Adhikari, A., Sarkar, P. K., & Madhab, A. (2019). A
Novel Whole Spectrum-based Non-invasive Screening Device for Neonatal
Hyperbilirubinemia. IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics.
https://doi.org/10.1109/JBHI.2019.2892946

Kato, S., Iwata, O., Yamada, Y., Sugiura, T., Suzuki, S., & Togari, H. (2020).
Standardization of phototherapy for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia using multiple-
wavelength irradiance integration. Pediatrics and Neonatology, 61(1), 100–105.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedneo.2019.07.002

Pace, E. J., Brown, C. M., & DeGeorge, K. C. (2019). Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia : An

evidence-based approach. Family Practice, 68(1), 4–11.

Shahroni, N., & Addi, M. M. (2018). An Automatic and Portable Phototherapy Garment
( APPG ) with Integrated Non-Invasive Bilirubin Detector. TENCON 2018 - 2018 IEEE
Region 10 Conference, 1999–2004.

Unicef. (2020). Phototherapy Light-Jaundice Management.

Zardosht, R., Farhat, A. S., Saeidi, R., & Parvin, F. (2019). Assement Efficacy and
Complication of the Distance between Phototherapy Lamps and Neonate ’ s Body Level
on Serum Bilirubin Decrease and Phototherapy Complications in Neonatal
Hyperbilirubinemia. Iranian Journal of Neonatology, 10(4).
https://doi.org/10.22038/ijn.2019.38470.1607

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 APPENDICES
Appendix 1: Arduino code of the prototype

#include <Stepper.h> //Stepper Motor library

#include <LiquidCrystal.h> //LCD library

int rs=2,EN=3,D4=4,D5=5,D6=6,D7=7; //LCD Pins Declarations

int y=20; //y is minimum blue light intensity for phototherapy
int pb1=16; //pb stands for Push button
int pb2=12;
int pb3=13;
int p1,p2,p3; // p stands for signal read from a particular push button
int dt=500,sec=1000;
int LDR,LDR_Reading;
int LDR1=A0;
int i=0,blue,ldr;
LiquidCrystal lcd(rs,EN,D4,D5,D6,D7);
Stepper myStepper(200,8,9,10,11);
void setup() {
// put your setup code here, to run once:
//LCD Initialization
lcd.begin(16,2);

//Push buttons Pins Declaration

pinMode(pb1,INPUT);
pinMode(pb2,INPUT);
pinMode(pb3,INPUT);

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pinMode(LDR1,INPUT);

//Stepper Motor Speed Setting

myStepper.setSpeed(100);

//LCD Operation
lcd.setCursor(0,0);
lcd.print("Phototherapy");
lcd.setCursor(0,1);
lcd.print("Prototype");
delay(2*sec);
lcd.clear();
delay(100);

}
void(* resetFunc)(void) = 0; //declaring reset function
void loop() {
// put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
lcd.setCursor(0,0);
lcd.print("Set Irradiance");
delay(100);
lcd.setCursor(0,1);
lcd.print(y);

p1=digitalRead(pb1);
delayMicroseconds(10);
p2=digitalRead(pb2);
delayMicroseconds(10);
p3=digitalRead(pb3);
delayMicroseconds(10);

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while(p1==0 && p2==0 && p3==0)
{
p1=digitalRead(pb1);
delayMicroseconds(10);
p2=digitalRead(pb2);
delayMicroseconds(10);
p3=digitalRead(pb3);
delayMicroseconds(10);
} //While there is no button is pressed, do nothing

//When Up and Down buttons are pressed for setting Irradiance level
if((p1==1 || p2==1) && p3==0)
{
if(p1==1 && p2==0 && y<35)
{
y=y+1;
lcd.setCursor(0,1);
lcd.print(y);
delay(dt);
}
if(p2==1 && p1==0 && y>20)
{
y=y-1;
lcd.setCursor(0,1);
lcd.print(y);
delay(dt);
}
if(y==20 || y==35)
{

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 lcd.setCursor(0,1);
lcd.print(y);
}
while(p1 == 1 && p2 == 1) //When both buttons are pressed do nothing
{
p1=digitalRead(pb1);
delayMicroseconds(10);
p2=digitalRead(pb2);
delayMicroseconds(10);
}
}

//When Enter button is pressed to set the required Irradiance level

if(p1==0 && p2==0 && p3==1)
{
LDR_Reading=analogRead(LDR1);
LDR=map(LDR_Reading,0,1023,35,0);
lcd.clear();
delay(10);
lcd.setCursor(0,0);
lcd.print("Irradiance Aimed");
delay(100);

/*While the Irradiance that reaches the neonate(patient) is less than the set Irradiance*/
while(LDR < y)
{
LDR_Reading=analogRead(LDR1);
LDR=map(LDR_Reading,0,1023,35,0);
//This Map statement is to
lcd.setCursor(0,1);

33
 lcd.print("Set: ");
lcd.print(y);
lcd.print(" Now: ");
lcd.print(LDR);
lcd.print(" ");
myStepper.step(1);
p3=digitalRead(pb3);
delayMicroseconds(10);
if(p3==1)
{
delay(sec);
p3=digitalRead(pb3);
delayMicroseconds(10);
if(p3==1)
{
lcd.clear();
resetFunc(); //call reset
}
}
}

/*While the Irradiance that reaches the neonate(patient) is high than the set Irradiance*/
while (LDR > y)
{
LDR_Reading=analogRead(LDR1);
LDR=map(LDR_Reading,0,1023,35,0);
lcd.setCursor(0,1);
lcd.print("Set: ");
lcd.print(y);
lcd.print(" Now: ");

34
 lcd.print(LDR);
lcd.print(" ");
myStepper.step(-1);
p3=digitalRead(pb3);
delayMicroseconds(10);
if(p3==1)
{
delay(sec);
p3=digitalRead(pb3);
delayMicroseconds(10);
if(p3==1)
{
lcd.clear();
resetFunc(); //call reset
}
}
}
delay(sec);
p3=digitalRead(pb3);
if(LDR==y)
{
blue=y;
}
while(blue==y && p3==0)
{
if(i==0)
{
lcd.clear();
lcd.setCursor(0,0);
lcd.print(" Therapy starts ");

35
 lcd.setCursor(0,1);
lcd.print(" NOW ");
delay(2*sec);
lcd.clear();
delay(100);
i=i+1;
}

lcd.setCursor(0,0);
lcd.print("Irradiance level");
lcd.setCursor(0,1);
lcd.print("Set: ");
lcd.print(y);
lcd.print(" Now: ");
LDR_Reading=analogRead(LDR1);
ldr=map(LDR_Reading,0,1023,35,0);
lcd.print(ldr);
lcd.print(" ");
p3=digitalRead(pb3);
}

/*If the Enter button is pressed when the Light Intensity set is the same as that
reaches the neonate(patient), then the start again at the beginning*/
if (LDR==y && p3==1)
{
lcd.clear();
resetFunc(); //call reset
}
}
}

36