The device is intended for roadside use by law enforcement agencies and includes a disposable plastic cartridge and a handheld analyzer. The cartridge has two components: a sample collector for gathering saliva and a measurement chamber containing magnetic nanoparticles. The particles are coated with ligands that bind to one of five different drug groups.

After 90 seconds, the device delivers its verdict on a color-coded readout. That's a lot of fancy technology to tell you that the naked, toothless guy trying to escape from the ghosts chasing him is probably high as a kite, but Philips, the company behind the tester, hopes to have the device in Europe by the end of the year. If it is successful, I would imagine that a US launch would not be far behind. [Technology Review via DVICE]

Blood analysis usually requires either large and expensive equipment or a trained technician to manually examine the material. Both are out of reach for many remote areas, especially in parts of Africa where HIV and malaria are rampant. UCLA researcher Dr. Aydogan Ozcan developed software that allows blood samples to be analyzed with the use of inexpensive, off-the-shelf camera sensors and a filtered light source. The key is the software's ability to analyze thousands of blood cells at once, providing an accurate result within minutes.

The photo above shows a Sony-Ericsson phone modded for this type of use. That bulge on the back is the filtered light source. It's great to see cool mods done for great social welfare rather than our gadgety amusement every once in awhile. [Wired]

There's also a cycle mode that charges and discharges batteries automatically for up to 15 cycles, useful for resetting a battery that lost a great deal of its charge. The WizardOne ships in December for $69, and is pretty useful if you go through a lot of AAs in various electronics around the house. – Jason Chen

Product Site [Maha Energy via i4u]

While this gadget can be easily replaced by a little trick called "good parenting," this seems perfect for the clueless and/or obsessive parent. Priced at about $120, it's currently available in the UK but they ship internationally.

Product Page [WhyCry]