iPhone "Tricorder" Does The Work Of A $50,000 Lab Machine

There is an X Prize competition to create a device like Star Trek's medical tricorder, a noninvasive tool doctors can use diagnose a patients ills and although this iPhone cradle made up of about $200 worth of electronics falls somewhat short of the goal, it is getting close.

Developed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by a team led by Prof. Brian Cunningham, the phone is able to detect toxins, proteins, bacteria, viruses and other molecules.

You start with a sample on a slide and then insert the slide into the cradle. The device then uses light reflected from the sample to determine its composition.