Gizmodo: hiv

Modded Cell Phone Analyzes Blood to Detect HIV, Malaria, and More

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 13:45:00 EST

Scientists at UCLA modded an ordinary phone into a portable blood analyzer that can detect diseases at a very low cost. The hack could save lives in poorer areas that can't afford expensive equipment.

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]

First Take-Home HIV Test Available in Britain

Travis Hudson — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 10:55:52 EST

Good news all around in the medical world—the first home HIV test has been launched in the U.K. This test involves swabbing a sample of saliva and sending it off to a laboratory. Upon a negative sample, the person will receive an e-mail, if it is a positive HIV sample a doctor will call directly, urging for more tests because the saliva test isn't as accurate as the blood test.

The home test costs £25, which equals roughly $48. This is excellent news to help stop the spread of HIV. Hopefully the privacy factor will encourage more people to get tested, and maybe this home test will make its way stateside soon. – Travis Hudson

HIV home screening kit [BBC]

Molecular Condom: Mighty Morphin' Molecules Keep HIV Away

Charlie White — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 14:33:09 EST

If scientists have their way, the condoms will be worn by the ladies of the future, because they've develop a vaginal "molecular condom" whose molecules have the unique ability to morph from fluid to semi-solid as soon as they're inserted into that glorious love hole.

The substance coats the walls of the vagina when it's warmed to body temperature, and when it comes in contact with the increased alkalinity of semen, it becomes a gel and releases anti-HIV drugs. That's some versatile stuff; it can readily change states like water but needs an even narrower temperature range to do so.

It'll be a while before we see this technology in action, where scientists are saying it's five years away from the testing phase and then it'll be 10 years from now before it finds its way into the bedroom, or the back seat. – Charlie White

Vagina's Molecular Armor [medGadget]

Take an HIV Test, Get Games

johnb — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 12:20:57 EDT

Just to confirm, I have nothing against HIV testing. It's important. But Werd Interactive is trying to drum up publicity for HIV testing by... wait for it... giving away two mobile games. Yeah. Why not take all the money—$50 by our count, considering that it probably cost them a bit to get the press release out there—and donate it to a proper charity rather than produce some ham-handed attempt at gaining market share through the misery of others. Listen: the folks who are getting HIV tests don't need mobile games and the people who aren't getting HIV tests really don't need mobile games. – John Biggs

STD Test = Free Games [Kotaku]