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9to5 Mac has a really interesting story to kick off the week, reporting on the next step in portable diagnosis for iOS apps and accessories, and two new startup ventures in particular that could one day transform your iPhone into an organic chemistry lab, with some important implications for managing common health or food safety issues.
According to the original feature in the Wall Street Journal, the first of these is 6SensorLabs’ Nima device, which is described as “an organic-chemistry lab small enough to carry in your pocket.”
Currently, the Nima is being used to detect gluten in foods at even the tiniest of concentrations, right down to 20 parts per million, which is the FDA’s threshold for declaring food “gluten-free.”
And while this might be considered a simple use for some, if you’re someone with a gluten allergy, then this little gadget would be very handy indeed.
6SensorLabs’ chief executive officer Shireen Yates told the WSJ that the Nima could eventually be adapted to recognise many different types of proteins, including potentially deadly bacterial contaminants such as E.coli and salmonella.
Initially it’s more likely that food suppliers and restaurants, rather than the consumer, will be using the Nima to test food as in order to use it you have to pay $5 per shot for a disposable reaction chamber, but the potential is still huge.
Elsewhere, SCiO from Consumer Physics of Israel claims that its camera-based technology that can identify substances by measuring reflected spectrum of light could one day be incorporated into smartphones.
Source: Say goodbye to food poisoning: the $250 iPhone-based 'chemistry lab in your pocket' is on the way
