Researchers have demonstrated that mobile devices incorporating their sensor can provide accurate measurements of optical absorption spectra of colored liquids or the optically scattered spectra of solid objects. In other words, a mobile device incorporating the lab-in-a-smartphone “science camera” could accurately read liquid-based or paper-based medical tests in which the end result is a material that changes from one color to another in the presence of a specific analyte.

Top and side views of the compact spectrometer for the smartphone science camera, comprised of an image sensor chip with linear variable filter attached over the surface.
(Credit: University of Illinois)

The team successfully demonstrated a very compact inexpensive system that performs optical spectroscopy in a form factor that can fit inside the body of a phone. It uses inexpensive components and the same kind of LEDs being used for flash illumination in phones. By adding a special component attached on top of a conventional smartphone image sensor, they were able to measure the light absorption of liquids, and the scattering spectrum of solids.

Their latest paper details how a smartphone could directly be placed over a cartridge containing the liquid to measure the specific color of the liquid. The results could then be directly sent electronically to a physician, who could make a diagnosis and suggest a remedy without a patient needing to see that physician in person.

Source 

Topics:
Coatings, colorants and finishes Coatings, colorants, and finishes Diagnosis Diagnostics Medical Medical equipment and supplies Medical, health and wellness Medical, health, and wellness Optics Sensors and actuators Spectroscopy

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    This article first appeared in the November, 2017 issue of Medical Design Briefs Magazine.

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