Smartphone detects food allergens

A smartphone that can be transformed into a lab with the ability to detect food allergens is the latest in add-on technology from inventor Aydogan Ozcan, an engineering professor at the university of California, Los Angeles. He and his researchers are creating prototypes of these devices that turn the phones into precise lab instruments.

The iTube, Ozcan and his colleagues’ new device, converts smartphones into colorimeters that are able to detect minute amounts of allergens, such as peanuts, in food. It’s designed for use at home or in public, such as at a restaurant, said Ozcan, an engineering professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. Continue Reading →