Engineering publications brought to you by Mark Allen

07 Feb 2020

Medical & healthcare

Smartphone lab offers rapid diagnosis of diseases

A portable lab developed at the University of Cincinnati could rapidly diagnose diseases such as coronavirus with the help of a smartphone and custom-made app.

In use, the patient puts a single-use plastic lab chip into their mouth, then plugs the chip into a slot in the smartphone lab accessory to test the saliva.

Smartphone test for rapid detection of UTIs

Smartphone sensor takes minutes to detect harmful algae

The device automatically transmits results to the patient's doctor through an app created at UC created for nearly instant results. According to UC, the device can test for HIV, Lyme disease or health conditions like depression and anxiety. The study was published in Microsystems & Nanoengineering.

UC professor Chong Ahn and his research team used the smartphone device to test for malaria, but it is claimed the device could be used for smart point of care testing for countless chronic or infectious diseases or to measure hormones related to stress.

"Right now, it takes several hours or even days to diagnose in a lab, even when people are showing symptoms. The disease can spread," Ahn said in a statement.

Register now to continue reading

Thanks for visiting The Engineer. You’ve now reached your monthly limit of news stories. Register for free to unlock unlimited access to all of our news coverage, as well as premium content including opinion, in-depth features and special reports.