Smartphone app tests urine for medical conditions
February 28, 2013 Leave a comment
Smartphone app tests urine for medical conditions
NEW YORK — A smartphone app that analyses urine samples for a range of medical conditions has been demonstrated at a science fair in the United States.
BY –
1 MIN 23 SEC AGO
NEW YORK — A smartphone app that analyses urine samples for a range of medical conditions has been demonstrated at a science fair in the United States.
The app can be used as an indicator of 25 different health issues including diabetes, urinary tract infections, cancers and liver problems.
Users who pay £13 (S$24.30) to download Uchek from Apple’s App Store from the end of this month will also be sent a mat and five dipsticks.
They then need to dip one of the sticks in a sample of their urine and take a picture using their smartphone. The mat is used to normalise the colours on the stick to give a better reading.
The app can then indicate any medical concerns by examining the presence of glucose, proteins, nitrates and other substances in the urine.
The app was shown at the Technology, Education and Design (TED) conference in Los Angeles, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Mr Myshkin Ingawale, who invented the app, told the BBC: “I wanted to get medical health checks into users’ hands.”
As well as being used by individuals, the app is undergoing testing at the King Edward Memorial hospital in Mumbai, India.
“If it does well we can make it available to mobile clinics. Instead of buying a US$10,000 machine they can use their existing smartphones,” Mr Ingawale, a campaigner for consumer-based health care, said.
He added: “There is huge potential to get the world of biochemistry out to users via apps.
“There needs to be a rethink in the way health care is delivered to people,” he said.
Initially Uchek will only available on iOS, but an Android version will follow.
Earlier at TED, U2’s Bono addressed delegates, telling them he was a “nerd” and an “insufferable jumped-up Jesus” that thought extreme poverty could be eliminated by 2030.
He put his trademark tinted glasses on upside down before telling the audience: “Forget the rock opera, forget the bombast. The only thing singing today is the facts. I have truly embraced my inner nerd. Exit the rock star. Enter the evidence-based activist. The factavist.”
Bono was awarded the first TED Prize in 2005 and said he used the “wish” granted by the group of scientists, entrepreneurs, politicians and assorted celebrities to help fight extreme poverty. AGENCIES
About bambooinnovator
Bamboo Innovator 