Monday, August 25, 2014

Cell phones really are becoming the all-in-one device

George M. Whitesides of Harvard University and coworkers have invented uMed, an electrochemical detector that uses the voice channel of a cell phone on any cellular network to transmit data for remote analysis.  It costs about $25, so it could bring water quality testing to people that cannot afford expensive electrochemical instruments.  It even uses the cell phone’s vibrate setting to mix samples.  The device uses test strips or electrodes with a potentiostat to perform chronoamperometry, cyclic voltammetry, differential pulsed voltammetry, square wave voltammetry, or potentiometry.  This can be used to detect trace amounts of toxic metals in drinking water, measure glucose in blood, monitor sodium in urine, and perform an electrochemical enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for malaria antigen.  For such a simple, inexpensive device, it really packs an analytical punch.  The article mentioned that further work would involve using the device to gather data in the field and get some feedback by users. Maybe Chemists Without Borders could volunteer to gather some data & provide feedback in exchange for the use of the devices.  Seems like a win-win to me.

Link to publication:
If anyone is interested, the publication indicates that correspondence be directed to : gwhitesides@gmwgroup.harvard.edu

1 comment:

  1. Oh really. Smartphone is a phenomenon no one can deny. Every individual is now holding one or other type of smartphone. A phone with internet has changed today world. Thanks to all those platform like android, windows etc. which enabled plethora of apps in a smaller device. This has helped in all sectors like business, health, personal apps or education.

    ReplyDelete