Small study shows smartphones can be used to detect intestinal worms

IRIN examines the feasibility of using a smartphone equipped with a glass lens to detect the presence of parasitic worms in stool samples, a concept that "could have a significant impact on the diagnosis of intestinal parasites that affect millions in remote, rural parts of the world, where even the most basic medical testing is hard to come by." A small study found that the smartphone method was not as sensitive as a light microscope, "but it is quite close to the gold standard," Isaac Bogoch, lead researcher on the study and a physician at Toronto General Hospital, said, according to IRIN. The WHO estimates "close to one-quarter of the world's population is infected with soil-transmitted worms," the news service notes (3/13).