University of Cambridge app turns your phone into a health monitor

Researchers have developed a mobile phone application recently that could make monitoring conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease, and urinary tract infections much clearer and easier for both patients and doctors. The app, developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, accurately measures colour-based, or colorimetric, tests for use in home, clinical or remote settings, and enables the transmission of medical data from patients directly to health professionals. 

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a smartphone app to monitor medical conditions and quickly transmit that data to a laboratory or health professional. Published in the June issue of Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, the app can accurately read glucose, protein, and pH concentrations, but the researchers say there’s potential to help fight pandemics in developing countries. The app, called Colorimetrix, essentially transforms any smartphone into a medical diagnostic device to read colorimetric test strips, which are used for medical monitoring, drug tests, and environmental analysis.