Can a scientist be called as a hacker for tweaking a cell phone into a medical gadget? If yes, then UCLA researcher Dr. Aydogan Ozcan is a witty medico-hacker for sure. He has managed to convert an ordinary cell phone into a portable blood tester that can detect HIV, malaria and other illnesses. A boon for remote locations and developing countries, such a modified tester can replace the need of high-tech, expensive blood testing machines. The device helps to visualize thousands of blood cells instantly by placing them on an off-the-shelf camera sensor and lighting them with a filtered-light source. The filtered light exposes distinctive qualities of the cells, which are then interpreted by Ozcan's custom software. By analyzing the cell types present in a much larger sample, a more accurate diagnosis can be made in a matter of minutes.

[Engadgetmobile] Via [Wired]