More than 50 percent of the world’s population have cell phones, but large portions of the world don’t have access to advanced medical devices. To harness this ubiquitous technology to improve health, scientists are developing simple and cheap solutions that make previously inaccessible tools available to the masses–many using the mobile phone.
One such creation comes from Aydogan Ozcan, a professor at UCLA’s California NanoSystems Institute. His cellphone microscope (see video) is a cheap, simple attachment to most any cell phone camera. It transforms the small camera into a powerful microscope, capable of capturing images on the cellular level. Users in far flung location around the world can now take a blood sample, snap an image and remotely send it to be examined by a professional. And all of the necessary equipment easily fits into your pocket.
At MIT Media Labs, they’ve developed another innovative cellphone lens attachment, this time to perform makeshift eye exams. Called the Near-Eye Tool for Refractive Assessment, or NETRA, the tool attaches to many mobile phones, and in a matter of moments can give you an accurate prescription. And particularly attractive to less-affluent corners of the world, the apparatus costs only $1.
These simple tools make turn mobile phones into powerful medical devices. What other ways can mobile technology help us lead healthier lives?
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