how to use mobile phone to detect human health conditions

A new £5.7 million project being led by St George’s, University of London is developing self-test devices that can plug directly into mobile phones and computers, immediately identifying infections. The project is called eSTI (electronic self testing instruments for STIs), and is being led by Dr Tariq Sadiq, senior lecturer and consultant physician in sexual health and HIV at St George’s, University of London. Most of the funding is coming from The Medical Research Council – and the UK Clinical Research Collaboration.
The UK has seen a 36 per cent rise in STIs from 2000 to 2009 – often blamed on the reluctance of the population to get diagnosed and the stigma of going to public health clinics – prompting the support of this project.
Researchers will use nanotechnology to create devices for testing multiple STIs, such as chlamydia and gonorrhea, similar to pregnancy test kits. These would be available in different settings, such as pharmacies and even vending machines, for users to add their samples and then plug into a computer or mobile phone.
It appears the technology will be aimed at phones that have the capability to connect to external devices and run mobile apps – smart phones such as the iPhone, Android devices, Blackberry, among others.