I don’t know about you guys, but I hate needles. One of the only reasons I hate going to the Doctor is because of the fact that regardless of what you are going in to the doctor for, they always want to get a blood sample… “pull up your shirt sleeve, we need to take a blood sample to see if you are going bald”
A new technology could bring those days to be a thing of the past, this new way of checking blood actually uses fluorescing nano-particle tattoos. The doctors inject you with nano-particles that fluoresce when they come in contact with a specified molecule. This way, the researchers can actually track the changes in sodium levels, sugar levels, iron levels, etc, using nothing more than a modified iPhone.
The iPhone has a blue light that makes the particles reflect the light back – Similar to the way we use a black light to intensify the light being reflected off of neon or white colors. The iPhone camera is equipped to read and analyze the fluorescence light being emitted by the particles. According to the scientist, the molecules light up with different intensity depending on what minerals are present at the time. This may not be something very practical for people like you or me who go to the doctor once every 10 blue moons, but for people with diabetes who have to check their blood once or twice a day, this could really help them simplify their life.
