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New Cell Phone Chip Knows if You're Sick or Drunk

by Lee Bains on February 23, 2009 at 01:38 PM

New technology is allowing cell phone users to undergo medical analysis by blowing into a small hole in the body of the phone, TechRadar reports.

Similar to a breathalyzer, the device, designed by Applied Nanodetectors, comprises a simple air hole and a computer chip, which is capable of detecting signs of lung cancer, diabetes, asthma and food poisoning, among other conditions. One of those conditions does happen to be drunkenness, as the chip is able to detect traces of alcohol alongside carbon dioxide, ammonia and nitrous oxide.

While notifying cell phone users of potential health concerns is remarkable enough, the device's phone-ready technology implies that results could also be automatically, or at least simply, sent to a user's doctor. At present, Applied Nanodetectors is planning the technology's introduction to European and Japanese markets.

While the technology itself strikes us as having a lot of potential usefulness, we can't help but think that it could also feed the cyberchondria so increasingly common in wired folks. [From: TechRadar.com Via: Textually.org]

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Tags: applied nanotech, AppliedNanotech, breathalyzer, cell phone, CellPhone, future tech, FutureTech, health, innovative, medical

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