Smartphone technologies to transform healthcare?
1 min read
Scientists from some of the UK's leading universities have received an £11million grant from the EPSRC to develop a new generation of mobile test and web tracking systems based on the latest advances in nanotechnology.
The new Healthcare Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration (IRC) will be led by Dr Rachel McKendry of University College London, and involve researchers from Newcastle University, Imperial College London and The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The grant will be used to create low cost, easy to use smartphone technologies that have the potential to save millions of people from deadly diseases such as influenza, HIV and MRSA.
Dr McKendry commented: "The revolution in mobile communication, nanotechnology, genomics, and big data analysis offers tremendous opportunities to actively manage outbreaks and ultimately to prevent infectious diseases. I am delighted to bring together some of the very best researchers in the UK to create innovative 21st century technologies in the battle against infectious diseases."
*For an in-depth look at the role smartphone apps hve to play in healthcare, take a look at the 28 May cover story here.
