Mobile phone technology to detect STIs
A consortium of academic and industrial partners are involved in a new £5.7m project to develop devices that can plug directly into mobile phones and computers to identify sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
The Medical Research Council and the UK Clinical Research Collaboration has given a £4m grant to the consortium to improve sexual health through the use of mobile phone technology.
The consortium, which includes Queen Mary, University of London, St George’s, UCL, Brunel University, Warwick University, the Health Protection Agency and industrial partners, made up the remaining £1.7m.
The project - called eSTI² (electronic self-testing instruments for STIs) - is being led by Dr Tariq Sadiq at St George’s, University of London, while Queen Mary’s contribution is being co-ordinated by Dr Claudia Estcourt from the Blizard Institute of Cell and Molecular Science at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry.
The consortium will create devices for testing multiple STIs, such as chlamydia and gonorrhea, similar to pregnancy test kits. Software on a phone or a computer will then be used to analyse the sample, make a diagnosis and recommend a course of action.
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