Blogs

The University of Washington (UW) in Seattle has developed a way to identify potentially harmful bacteria on the skin and in the mouth using a smartphone. According to their paper published in Optics and Lasers in Engineering in May 2021, the 5 authors from the Departments of Bioengineering and Ophthalmology at UW used a standard smartphone with a custom-built smartphone case that incorporates the use of black light LEDs to illuminate microbes that may cause acne and slow wound healing on the skin. They can also illuminate bacteria that causes dental plaque and gingivitis within the mouth. “Bacteria on skin and in our mouths can have wide impacts on our health — from causing tooth decay to slowing down wound healing,” said UW professor of bioengineering and ophthalmology Ruikang Wang. “Since smartphones are so widely used, we wanted to develop a cost-effective, ...

Most of the things we use our smartphones for work because of a sensor, and there are many sensors in modern smartphones. Biometric sensors read our fingerprints; gyroscopes orient our phones for driving directions; light sensors automatically lighten or darken the screen based on the ambient light in the room. The magnetometer tells the phone which way is north, and proximity sensors are used to tell you how long until you take your next turn. Without these smartphone sensors, these slim slabs of microchips wouldn’t be near as helpful as they are now.As technology improves, the number of things smartphone sensors can be used for increases, especially in the face of ever-expanding uses for virtual reality and increased IoT technology. For those looking to invest in smartphone components—or even for those who want to keep a pulse on the smartphone ...