Pocket-sized labs: Smartphones could be latest tool in detecting cancer

Testing for cancer that would otherwise need to be done in laboratory can now be performed through smartphones thanks to work from researchers at Washington State University (WSU).

Considering the growth of portable technology, why should laboratories be left out? Led by Lei Li, an assistant professor at WSU, a team of researchers was able to create a cost-effective, portable lab that can test eight samples simultaneously through a smartphone. The team's findings were published in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics.

The application utilizes a smartphone spectrometer that includes eight channels to test samples for the cancer biomarker interleukin-6 (IL-6), which is a sign of lung, prostate, liver, breast and epithelial cancers. This multichannel device tests samples using the ELISA test of color changing when an antibody is identified, makes it capable of being transported anywhere and gives lab-quality results up to 99 percent of the time.

"With our eight channel spectrometer, we can do the same test on eight different samples or one sample in eight different wells to do eight different tests. This increases our device's efficiency," said Li. "The spectrometer would be especially useful in clinics and hospitals that have a large number of samples without on-site labs or for doctors who practice abroad or in remote areas. They can't carry a whole lab with them. They need a portable and efficient device."