International media: UC's portable lab connects to smartphone to diagnose disease

UC engineering professor Chong Ahn is improving point-of-care diagnoses with smartphone lab and app

International news media examined new technology developed by the University of Cincinnati that could help diagnose diseases remotely and more quickly.

UC College of Engineering and Applied Science professor Chong Ahn created a portable point-of-care testing device that plugs into your smartphone and sends test results to your doctor through a custom UC app.

Patients place a plastic tab in their mouth to collect saliva. They insert the tab into a slot in the credit card-sized lab, which plugs into a smartphone's USB port. In a study published in the Nature journal Microsystems & Nanoengineering, Chong used the device to test for malaria. But he said point-of-care testing holds the potential to diagnose other infectious diseases or track hormones related to stress or anxiety.

"This is the future of personal healthcare," Chong's student Sthitodhi Ghosh said.

Read more about the device in UC News.

Featured image at top: Chong Ahn is a professor of biomedical and electrical engineering in UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science. Photo/Joseph Fuqua II/UC Creative Services

Detail shot of UC engineering professor Chong Ahn, PhD phone device setup in his lab at Rhodes Hall. UC/ Joseph Fuqua II

UC engineering professor Chong Ahn and his graduate student, Sthitodhi Ghosh, developed a portable point-of-care testing device that can diagnose infectious diseases and transmit test results to your doctor using a smartphone. Photo/Joseph Fuqua II/UC Creative Services