Medical News Today is reporting that the EU-funded project, SMART-BIOMEMS, is developing the portable testing device.

A DNA sample is inserted into the device, and the sample is then moved into a microfluidic chip on the device. The device has to be attached to a PC with a camera (or possibly with a mobile phone) that can capture an image of the sample. It's then ready to be analyzed on the PC with custom software. The product eliminates the need to collect human blood and fluid samples and transport them, which is often the cause of error, Medical News reported.

"What we are developing here is a comparatively inexpensive, easy-to-use and portable point-of-care system which will have very real clinical benefits," Gianluca Vezzani the project's coordinator explained in the article.

SMART-BIOMEMS has a variety of applications, Vezzani added, but the prototype is for cancer testing.

This is one of a number of emerging mobile technologies that may improve health care. Recently, The Industry Standard has written about a mobile device that can test for HIV and the mobile phone data collection application for community health workers. These products are still in the early testing stages, but could have a huge impact on health care, particularly in rural regions where access to medical staff is relatively limited.