While these sorts of inexpensive, portable tests aren’t meant to replace a doctor, holograms could enable people to easily monitor their own health.
- Ali Yetisen
Responsive holograms that change colour in the presence of certain compounds are being developed into portable medical tests and devices, which could be used to monitor conditions such as diabetes, cardiac function, infections, electrolyte or hormone imbalance easily and inexpensively.
The ‘smart’ holograms can be used to test blood, breath, urine, saliva or tear fluid for a wide range of compounds, such as glucose, alcohol, hormones, drugs, or bacteria. When one of these compounds is present, the hologram changes colour, potentially making the monitoring of various conditions as simple as checking the colour of the hologram against a colour gradient. Clinical trials of the holographic sensors to monitor glucose levels and urinary tract infections in diabetic patients are currently underway at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, part of Cambridge University Hospitals.
The interdisciplinary project by researchers from the University of Cambridge uses a highly absorbent material known as a hydrogel, similar to contact lenses, impregnated with tiny particles of silver. Using a single laser pulse, the silver nanoparticles are formed into three-dimensional holograms of predetermined shapes in a fraction of a second.
Read the full story
Image: Holographic paper macro
Credit: dominicotine via Flickr Creative Commons
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
___________________________________________________