Parents are being asked to donate pictures of their newborn baby’s feet, eyes and ears to help create a ground-breaking app that could save the lives of hundreds of children born prematurely in developing countries every year.

Medical care for pregnant women in isolated areas of developing countries is often non-existent. This makes it impossible to determine the gestation of a baby which means countless premature children die because they haven’t received the specialist care they need.

Doctors at the University of Nottingham are collecting images of the feet, eyes and ears of babies at all stages of development from 23 weeks to 42 weeks. The images will be used to create a smartphone app called NeoGest that doctors in developing countries will use to scan the creases of the feet and the shape of the eyes of premature babies to determine how old they are.

Doctors can gauge maturity from the number and depth of feet creases in much the same way as botanists can tell the age of a tree from the rings in its trunk. This information can then help doctors determine whether newborns need specific care or feeding, or to be taken to hospital.

The software, developed by Dr Don Sharkey, clinical associate professor of neonatal medicine, and Dr Michel Valstar, a computer scientist, could be a vital lifeline in countries where it is impossible to determine the gestation of babies because of a lack of equipment and specialist knowledge.

“What defines each gestational age is the number of wrinkles and the depth of them in the feet,” Valstar said. “The roundness of the eyes and how sharp they are at the corners is another indicator. By using and storing the pictures we collect, the app will begin to recall the shape of the eyes, ears and wrinkles in the feet.”

The researchers have spent the last three months collecting 100 images of children born prematurely at the neonatal unit at Nottingham University hospitals. They are now appealing for photographs of full-term and premature babies’ feet, eyes and ears through a crowdsourcing app called BabyFace, which launches on Monday 4 May, to help improve the accuracy of NeoGest and save more lives.

The pictures, taken of babies at different stages of maturity, will be put into a database and NeoGest will then “learn” these examples using machine learning – similar to artificial intelligence.

When a newborn baby’s foot is scanned using the app, the system will match the creases of the foot or the shape of the eyes to give the gestation period of the child. As more images are submitted by parents, they will be added to the database to help improve accuracy.

To submit images, parents must first download BabyFace for free from iTunes. Parents are asked to input their child’s sex, weight (either in kg or lbs), date of birth and how early or late they were.

Once these details have been completed, the phone’s camera will automatically switch on. The screen will show an outline of a face and parents will be asked to “take a frontal-view picture” of their baby’s face, keeping it within the on-screen outline.

The same sequence occurs with an outline of a right foot, and a right ear. Images can be retaken and the app then explains how the data will be used to help babies born prematurely in developing countries.

BabyFace has been designed to be as simple and interactive as possible and parents only need to click “upload images” to load their photos onto the database. The app will detail how all data will be used anonymously and destroyed after use. Valstar said NeoGest, which is likely to be available by spring 2016 and will be free, will be accurate to within one week.

“We know with 100 images we will be able to be accurate,” he added. “But taking a picture of a child’s foot or eyes when they have just been born is often the last thing on a parent’s mind, and we need these pictures to be taken as soon as possible after birth. We will be asking parents to submit these through BabyFace because the more images we get the more accurate it will be.”

The academics decided to create the prematurity app NeoGest because, often in developing countries where healthcare and medical expertise is limited, smartphones are common and could be the simple key to saving a premature baby’s life.

“We think it could save hundreds of babies in developing countries,” said Sharkey. “It will be really important in countries where there are often smartphones but little else, particularly any knowledge about when women are due to give birth.”

Sharkey said determining prematurity was vital because some babies were born before they learn to suck at 34 weeks, but often don’t get the care they needed. Others can be vulnerable to infection or changes in temperature and often hospitals can be several days’ journey away. Having an early indication of a child’s gestation can make a vital difference in these circumstances.

He added: “The app will be able to be used by anyone, with or without medical knowledge. It will scan a baby and will give its gestation and care plan.”

The project has been supported by a $100,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The NeoGest app will be available to download from iTunes and the Google Play store in about 18 months.