Scientists at UCLA have modified a cellphone to act as a portable blood tester that is capable of detecting HIV, malaria and other illnesses. This would be particularly useful to bring cheap on the post detection to may remote villages.

Today blood testes require either large machines that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars or a trained technician who manually identifies and counts cells under a microscope. These methods take a lot of time and money, not to mention a dedicated laboratory in which to take place. With technology such as this, these methods can one day be a ting of the past.

The method takes images of thousands of blood cells by placing then on an “off-the-shelf” camera and lighting them with a covered light source. The light exposes distinctive qualities of cells, which are then analyzed by Dr. Aydogan Ozcan’s custom software. This method allows users to make a more accurate diagnosis in a matter of minutes.

[Via Wired]