A new mobile device can help people diagnose diseases in a couple of minutes.

This lightweight mobile system called Biomeme can perform DNA diagnostics and monitor real-time disease by leveraging the computing power of an iPhone or iPad.

Biomeme was developed bya Philadelphia tech start-up of the same name.

Like Us on Facebook

The device enhances the iPhone's computing power and uses the phone's built-in camera to test for diseases and work other biological diagnostics in any setting. The company is still developing the hardware that will be attached to an iPhone.

With Biomeme, patients won't have to shell-out big money and wait for days for the result of a DNA exam. The device delivers the results of a DNA exam in a few minutes.

The qPCR (quantitative polymerase chain reaction) thermocycler device in Biomeme diagnoses sickness by analyzing DNA and cross-referencing it with DNA signatures that scientists have connected to certain diseases.

This capability can only be found in expensive medical laboratories.

The developers of Biomeme want the device to become the low-cost, easy-to-use system for medical professionals or laypersons at home or in any developing country where advanced medical help is less accessible.

"There are a billion smartphones on the planet today, and each one is potentially a lab point," said CEO Max Perelman.

The company also aims to make Biomeme available to everyone from medical practitioners to the general public.

Currently. the device is being tested in a gonorrhea study at the Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia.

Biomeme is primarily being tested in developing countries in South America and Africa where mobile health labs are necessary.

TagsMobile Health Device, Biomeme, DNA Result, mobile health labs, Science