Washington State University researchers have developed a portable spectrometer, which works along with a smartphone to analyze multiple samples at once for signs of cancer.
Continuous miniaturization of electronic devices has allowed sensors previously confined to a laboratory to shrink down to a portable size, with previously bulky equipment now able to fit in a briefcase or even a needle. Now a team from Washington State University (WSU) has developed an intensive spectrometer that connects to a smartphone which can spot cancer biomarkers in several samples simultaneously, thus making lab-like accuracy out into the field.
One of the features of this device is — existing smartphone biosensors can only deal with one sample at a time — WSU’s device can scan up to eight at once, measuring light spectrum to detect traces of specific chemicals in a sample. In this incidence, the spectrometer will search for a presence of human interleukin-6 (IL-6), which then behaves as a red flag for liver, lung, prostate, breast and epithelial cancers.
So far, the team has tested its smartphone spectrometer in the lab, and found that the device has a 99% accuracy rate. The next step would be to test it out in the real world, and expand the range of compatible phones.
