And presumably scrutinises it in extreme detail.
The Scientist magazine has rounded up its top tech innovations of the year, and put the microscope in the top spot.
The clip-on accessory was invented by UCLA Engineering professor Aydogan Ozcan with the aim of improving healthcare in emerging markets.
It's a holographic microscope that uses off-the-shelf parts and costs as little as $10. It can be attached to a phone camera to check saliva and blood samples for diseases like HIV and malaria.
Results can be sent by the phone to labs for analysis.
"We have more than five billion cell phone subscribers around the world today, and because of this, cell phones can now play a central role in telemedicine applications," said Ozcan.
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It's very laudable, but one wonders whether there could be a commercial application of the tech too. Could it be that the smartphone will add microscopes to the list of other devices it can cannibalise - a list that already includes watches, torches, alarm clocks, SatNav, projectors, cameras and more?
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1 comment
Love to see science/medicine meet technology. Glad to see that someone has found a way to make phones beneficial for medical use. Such a unique idea that is realistic and just makes sense!
Glen Suh
www.tapit.com
Glen Suh Jan 6th 2012 at 6:31PM
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