Safe Water? Ask The Smartphone

This is Scientific American's 60-Second Tech. I'm Larry Greenemeier. Got a minute?
A virtual cottage industry has emerged around finding innovative uses for smartphones, well beyond basic calling, texting and Internet access.
In particular, there's been a lot of interest in turning iPhones into something like the Star Trek medical tricorder.
For example, University of Illinois researchers are developing an app and cradle-like device that makes the iPhone a biosensor.
The key is the smartphone's camera and processing power combined with the lenses and filters located in the cradle.
Just put a sample of what you want to study on a slide and insert it into the cradle.
The iPhone screen indicates a shift in wavelength when the cradle's photonic crystal detects toxins, proteins, bacteria, viruses or other biological materials on the slide.
The researchers published in the journal Lab on a Chip.
Imagine using a smartphone to tell if there are toxins in harvested corn and soybeans or pathogens in a water supply.
That's a handy tool that lowers the cost of medical fieldwork.
Plus, when you're done, it's easy to call in the results.
Thanks for the minute, for Scientific American's 60-Second Tech. I'm Larry Greenemeier.