A study has revealed that scientists in rural Tanzania are using iPhone and a camera lens in order to study intestinal worms of the infected patients. This has been a breakthrough in medical technology.
This has been published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. It showed the world that it is possible to design a low-cost field microscope using iPhone, double-sided tape, a flashlight, ordinary laboratory slides and an $8 camera lens.
With the help of this low-cost device the medical experts have found hookworm eggs in the stool of the infected children.
"There's been a lot of tinkering in the lab with mobile phone microscopes, but this is the first time the technology has been used in the field to diagnose intestinal parasites," said Isaac Bogoch, a physician specializing in infectious diseases at Toronto General Hospital and the lead author.
Reports have confirmed that intestinal worms infect almost two billion people who include women and children. These worms cause malnutrition as they feed on their host. It was also revealed that microscope which is used to determine the eggs costs around $200 and thus many health care units does not have it in their possession. Now, with this new low-cost device scientists are expecting to diagnose this disease easily.