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. 2014 Sep 7;14(17):3159-64.
doi: 10.1039/c4lc00142g.

Smartphone technology can be transformative to the deployment of lab-on-chip diagnostics

David Erickson  1 , Dakota O'Dell, Li Jiang, Vlad Oncescu, Abdurrahman Gumus, Seoho Lee, Matthew Mancuso, Saurabh Mehta
Affiliations

Smartphone technology can be transformative to the deployment of lab-on-chip diagnostics

David Erickson et al. Lab Chip. .

Abstract

The rapid expansion of mobile technology is transforming the biomedical landscape. By 2016 there will be 260 M active smartphones in the US and millions of health accessories and software "apps" running off them. In parallel with this have come major technical achievements in lab-on-a-chip technology leading to incredible new biochemical sensors and molecular diagnostic devices. Despite these advancements, the uptake of lab-on-a-chip technologies at the consumer level has been somewhat limited. We believe that the widespread availability of smartphone technology and the capabilities they offer in terms of computation, communication, social networking, and imaging will be transformative to the deployment of lab-on-a-chip type technology both in the developed and developing world. In this paper we outline why we believe this is the case, the new business models that may emerge, and detail some specific application areas in which this synergy will have long term impact, namely: nutrition monitoring and disease diagnostics in limited resource settings.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Smartphone based microfluidic and lab-on-chip technology
(a) colorimetric analysis for serum cholesterol detection [7] (b) smartphone microscopy [8] (c) genetic testing [9] and (d) electrochemistry analysis [10]. Images (b), (c), and (d) Reproduced from [8], [9], and [10] respectively with permission from The Royal Society of Chemistry
Figure 2
Figure 2. Smartphone based Lab-on-Chip Technology Roadmap
Image illustrates the possible technological progression of smartphone based lab-on-chip technology from the existing product state to likely areas of high-reward R&D.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Smartphone based LOC technology could provide a number of important advantages for health monitoring and diagnostics. Key benefits for nutrition monitoring include personalized and rapid care with a low barrier to entry while for disease diagnostics it offers early diagnosis, better patient monitoring, and spatiotemporal tracking capability.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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