DrConnected

We are increasingly discovering that there really isn’t much we can’t harness a mobile phone to do. With the correct software and attachments it is proving to be a seriously useful tool in the medical world.  The latest incarnation sees our versatile mobile becoming a microscope, and looks set to revolutionize the way underdeveloped countries can practice medicine.

Currently a prototype, it utilizes a cleverly shrunken microscope lens, which attaches to the phone and turns it into a potentially lifesaving tool.  Samples of blood or salvia can be loaded onto the slides, in this case single use chips, which are in turn inserted into the side of the lens.  Images can then be captured by the phone, allowing them to be sent instantly to a location with a larger medical facility for specialist analysis.

On the spot, the clever software is able to provide a red blood cell count, a white blood cell count and identification for microparticles, which could well give the physician on site enough information to begin treatment whilst waiting for the more in depth results to be sent back.  Research scientists at Ozcan, responsible for the technology, are also quick to point out other uses, such as instant testing of water quality in the wake of a natural disaster such as an earthquake or hurricane.

Tests are being concentrated in Africa during this summer, partly funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.  One of the key points here though is the cheap cost of the lens and software, making this a very real possibility for these areas to fund themselves, or for aid workers to take out with them.  With nearly all mobiles having camera technology, this is sure to revolutionize what testing can be done locally in these remote and underdeveloped areas.