Music player, game console, GPS or camera, these are just some of the uses that we have made of our cell phones.
The possibilities continue to expand and an American researcher has taken on the challenge of transforming our cell phones into medical tools.
M. Aydogan Ozcan, an engineer from the University of California UCLA is designing ways to transform an ordinary smart phone into a microscope.
The idea, called LUCAS, is to make a cell phone that can detect diseases like malaria by analyzing blood cells, to test water and see if it doesn’t contain parasites or even monitor the health of HIV patients by counting T cells in their blood. The ultimate aim is to turn a mobile phone microscope or 3D scanner, which can be used to cheaply and easily anywhere in the world, with the aim of saving lives and reducing the costs of health care. Ozcan explains, “Our main goal is to replace bulky optical microscopes with computer codes and architectures that can make them extremely lightweight, compact and cost effective.” Says Mr Ozcan.
How does it work? A sensor converts light bouncing off and around a blood sample and redraws the form of digital hologram cells.
This image can then be seen on the screen of a laptop enabling the doctor to recognise, for example, the deformed red blood cells causedby malaria.
The CellScope could have a significant impact in developing countries. Currently at the prototype stage, it is unclear how soon it could be manufactured but everything will be tested in Brazil to see if the system meets expectations.
4.6 billion people have a cell phone and this technology is not very expensive, it could cost less than $10! In fact, although traditional microscopes can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars, Aydogan Ozcan believes his invention could costs as little as $10. It works by clipping on the back of any standard cell phone a special filter and a slot for the slide along with medical lighting LEDs.
The scientific site LiveScience posted a video interview of the young researcher from California, Aydogan Ozcan, who won the 2010 Discover magazine Popular Mechanics. You can see it here: