I have family members who are allergic to nuts and eggs, which means eating with them is filled with a million questions concerning their food so their chomp doesn’t end in a stab from their EpiPen and a one-way trip to the nearest hospital. But a new phone accessory can help in a person being absolutely sure of what’s in their food before eating it.
Researchers at UCLA’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have created a device they’re called the iTube, which brings the test tube based allergen test called a colorimetric assay right to your phone with this attachment.
Of course, you’d need to know what you’re allergic to before you even conceive of using this device, and even then, the test takes around 20 minutes to complete as you’ll need to ground up the sample, mix it with water and additional liquids in a step-by-step process. Once you have your mixture ready, you’ll need to use your phone’s camera to determine how much of the allergen is present in your food, if it’s present at all.
Hopefully if you’re in need of something like this to carry around with you testing your food for allergens for 20 minutes, you’re comfortable eating ice-cold food after your phone gives you the A-OK. If not, you better get used to it real quick.
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