Hacked CellPhone detects disease....

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

from wired

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/multimedia/2008/12/gallery_microscope_phone

LOS ANGELES — A new MacGyver-esque cellphone hack could bring cheap, on-the-spot disease detection to even the most remote villages on the planet. Using only an LED, plastic light filter and some wires, scientists at UCLA have modded a cellphone into a portable blood tester capable of detecting HIV, malaria and other illnesses.

Blood tests today require either refrigerator-sized machines that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars or a trained technician who manually identifies and counts cells under a microscope. These systems are slow, expensive and require dedicated labs to function. And soon they could be a thing of the past.

[Jamastiene]

1. My question is: How did they do it without a paper clip and a rubber band?

It's astounding the things they can do with this newfangled technology. I love it!

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

2. rubber band as torniquet

paper clip to get the blood?

[Jamastiene]

9. Perfect!

I love it. :)

[a la izquierda]

3. And they MUST have MacGuyver to look...

utterly perplexed before figuring it all out. How are they going to fit that into the phone?

[Jamastiene]

8. I know.

It just wouldn't be the same without the LOOK and the genius "light bulb" moment.

[derby378]

4. Has this been posted in LBN yet?

If not, you should think about it. This is one of those potential paradigm shifts in medical diagnosis that could save thousands of lives every year - maybe even millions.

[hendo]

5. Damn, they totally

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=MacGyvered|MacGyvered> that cellphone. Thats pretty awesome.


edit: fixed the link to DU code, I hope.

[Pab Sungenis]

6. Photo of finished device

[NeedleCast]

7. So basically it's the prototype of the Tri-corder

Sweet. It's a Star Trek world.

[Jamastiene]

10. I'm loving every minute of it too.

"It's a Star Trek world."

:)

[supernova]

11. Wow! That's awesome!

:D

Really exciting to see.