Official News page 7

REAL LIFE NEWS: YOUR MOBILE PHONE COULD BE A LIFE-SAVER

by Hazed

Here's an awesome new use for a mobile phone: turn it into a microscope that can analyze blood samples to check for diseases. This is the brainchild of engineers at Berkeley University, who wanted to figure out a way for doctors in developing countries to diagnose common blood diseases in the field. Their solution: a cheapo attachment with an LED for a phone, which feeds magnified images into the mobile's camera. Software on the phone then analyzes bacterial counts, or alternatively the image can be sent back to labs for quick analysis.

Bioengineer Dan Fletcher, who led the CellScope research team said: "The same regions of the world that lack access to adequate health facilities are, paradoxically, well-served by mobile phone networks. We can take advantage of these mobile networks to bring low-cost, easy-to-use lab equipment out to more remote settings... We had to disabuse ourselves of the notion that we needed to spend many thousands on a mercury arc lamp and high-sensitivity camera to get a meaningful image. We found that a high-powered LED – which retails for just a few dollars – coupled with a typical camera phone could produce a clinical quality image sufficient for our goal of detecting in a field setting some of the most common diseases in the developing world."

More details here.

Fed2 Star index Previous issues Fed 2 home page