Researchers created accessory that turns iPhone into detector of blood parasites

Apple's mobile devices have been used for various purposes, some time even created a way to turn the iPhone into a microscope. Apparently it is of great use for medicine, are now using the device for another way to help the sick, this time who is with parasites in the blood.

A team from the University of California, Berkeley, has created a design that transforms the Apple smartphone into a microscope capable of identifying parasites in blood, and in just three minutes. The CellScope Loa is a box in which the device must be connected, then just enter the blood sample and the iPhone will record five-second videos.

The accessory works in conjunction with an application that looks for signs of movement in the blood sample to check for parasites. In the case of sick people, if left untreated, the parasites can cause blindness and even elephantiasis.

It may seem a bit no reason this project, however, there are thousands of cities in Africa and elsewhere in the world who suffer from a lack of equipment and maintenance in hospitals. The CellScope Loa is an inexpensive way to perform verification of parasites without need for medical devices which can be acquired only by nonsense values.

The accessory is still in its infancy, however, is quite simple to play it, it is necessary to build an Arduino board, blueetooth module and LED. The researchers plan to expand the unit's production to get help about 40,000 people in Cameroon, a country located in Central Africa