New research says that a tube, software and a saliva sample can be used with your smartphone to measure stress hormone cortisol levels.
The research was presented at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society (ICE/ENDO) 2014 last week in Chicago, according to Delhi Daily News.
"We have designed a method by which anyone with a smartphone will be able to measure their salivary cortisol level quickly, easily and inexpensively," said lead investigator Dr. Joel Ehrenkranz.
A commercial lab in the U.S. can charge up to $50 for a test like the one designed by Ehrenkrannz and his team, according to Reuters.
The smartphone test, according to Eherenkranz, will cost under $5 and will give the results of the test almost instantly. Parts of the U.S. and other parts of the world that currently lack the facilities and tools to measure cortisol will be able to perform the tests at little to no charge and have quick results.
For it to help those around the world, it needed to be inexpensive, said Ehrenkranz. The device only costs $1 to make.
Eherenkranz and his team of researchers hope that people around the world will use the test on their phones to diagnose disorders involving cortisol levels.
The researchers want people to be able to read their cortisol levels anywhere at anytime. The design of the new device will allow anyone to use it on any type of phone.
The device has a case, a light pipe and a lens. It will not use any battery power and is unbreakable and resusable.
The Ministry of Public Health of Thailand plans to introduce the cortisol test to the public later this year.