a selfie might save your life. on your phone could be used to test for cervical cancer
Diagnosing disease is costly and time-consuming, especially in countries with limited resources digital holography the construction of 3D images of cells using a smartphone-compatible device could help. To turn holography into a diagnostic tool, team first had to make different molecules. Diffract light differently. Which bind to specific molecules – such as cancer markers or HPV DNA and change their diffraction pattern.
They then inserted the sample into a device that clips onto any smartphone. Light is shone onto the sample and patterns of diffracted light are detected by the phone's camera. The more micro beads visible, the greater the risk of cervical cancer. Cervical cancer diagnosis via the diffraction of micro beads, shown in green. The more beads that show up, the higher the cancer risk
The device was able to distinguish between women who were at high or low risk of cervical cancer and to detect the presence of HPV as accurately as conventional tests. The smartphone analysis confirmed the presence of cancer cells.
Now planning on piggybacking on an HIV project in Botswana to test the device's ability to detect cancers exacerbated by HIV. We can use our technology as a kind of triage system, to flag up samples that look suspicious and help put resources to the best use
might benefit the most from smartphone diagnosis, future iterations of the device that detect diffraction patterns in a spot of blood from a pricked finger could enable people to diagnose themselves at home, says Castro
Tweaking the structure of the micro beads should mean infectious diseases and other types of cancer could be picked up. "The user would get an image and an analysis of the results that could be sent to their doctor," he says.