New device detects diabetes through saliva
A new device can detect diabetes through saliva samples and gives results in a few seconds, through a smartphone.
The device is developed by scientists at the Tec de Monterrey (Mexican University) in collaboration with the University of Houston and is targeted to be used in developing countries.
The device is a cartridge adaptable to the mobile phone that will record whether a compound is present in saliva, which becomes visible if the patient has diabetes. “It’s as simple as pregnancy tests, where the specific marker shows in a few seconds,” explains project coordinator Dr. Marco Antonio Rite Palomares, director of the Biotechnology Center of the Tec de Monterrey FEMSA.
The project is planned to be completed in two years, “We wanted a device which could identify a biomarker in a sample of saliva, and it had to emit fluorescent light so a cell phone camera could records it,” explains Rite Palomares.
The director of FEMSA Biotechnology Center mentions that he considered using the camera phone to detect the marker in saliva, as the resolution is getting better each year. Afterwards it was considered to make it visible through an enzymatic reaction where the biomarker is fluorescent or emits light identifiable from the rest of the compounds through a strategy that has been used in other areas of technology and is now applied to biology.
“While the idea is to make the patient’s life easier, we also want to bring health care to the low-income population, helping to make and early detection before it can lead to more problems and take action to prevent high costs for the population and the government,” he added.
Category: Features, Technology & Devices
