STD Test? There's an App for That

[JohnSmith2007 353]

STD Test? There's an App for That

By Ben Popper

November 8, 2010 | 1:16 p.m

Gives a whole new meaning to status update.

British health officials are hard at work on a new app that will allow users to pee into their cell phones and find out within minutes if they have an STD.

Seriously, we could not make this stuff up if we tried.

According to The Guardian, £4 million have been invested in the UK Clinical Research Collaboration, which is creating a smartphone app that will allow users, "to put urine or saliva on to a computer chip about the size of a USB chip, plug it into their phone or computer and receive a diagnosis within minutes."

The techno-savvy approached is aimed at young brits, who apparently are too embarrased to visit the doctor face to face and have been experiencing rising rates of STDs (or STIs if you prefer.)

"Your mobile phone can be your mobile doctor. It diagnoses whether you've got one of a range of STIs, such as chlamydia or gonorrhea and tells you where to go next to get treatment," Dr Tariq Sadiq, a senior lecturer and consultant physician in sexual health and HIV at St George's, University of London, who is leading the project, told The Guardian.

If it's really that simple, why wait till after the deed is done? Wouldn't it make more sense for prospective partners to swap fluids before hand, get a reading on their cell phones, and then decide whether or not to "finish the download"?

http://www.observer.com/2010/daily-transom/future-alert-std-test-theres-app

Edited November 9, 2010 by JohnSmith2007

[natty bumppo 297]

If it's really that simple, why wait till after the deed is done? Wouldn't it make more sense for prospective partners to swap fluids before hand, get a reading on their cell phones, and then decide whether or not to "finish the download"?

http://www.observer....test-theres-app

new visus scan tool ... wonder if norton or mcafee will get in on the action

[Nagishkaw 510]

The techno-savvy approached is aimed at young brits

[Amby 490]

soon people will be testing each other before a one night stand

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Apple will make billions on this.

[thongd4me 69]

Finally a computer app that Wilt Chamberlain can dig!

[Arabella 4]

Fake. It would void the warranty!

[scandal 951]

"to put urine or saliva on to a computer chip about the size of a USB chip,"

What's a USB chip?

[ValerieA 350]

Ah, but if they manage to do this, think about what else it could be used for...

[spookyturtle 9,466]

What's a USB chip?

A small nick in a USB port? A small piece of a broken USB port?

[thongd4me 69]

It looks like an overly-expensive one time use gizmo.

I guess what they expect to happen is a chemical reaction on the chip translates into digital code;

but once the chip is peed on I doubt there could be any re-use.

Warning label:

Pee on the chip, not on your phone!

[Gemmie 142]

Sorry to sound like an old fart (I'm not one of those people that rush out to buy all the new technology - in fact I only just bought a touch-screen cell phone), but I'm always amazed when they come out with these kind of Apps. What will happen in a couple of decades? Will my kids grow up being able to use their phones to access someone's sexual past?