Mobile Device Image Analysis for Home Disease Diagnostics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional disease diagnostic tests require trained personnel and centralized laboratory settings, making it challenging to obtain quick and reliable test results, especially in remote areas with scarce medical resources, and do not allow patients to perform tests conveniently at home.
Innovation Solution
A portable diagnostic system that uses an optical property modifying device and a mobile device to analyze biological samples through image-based nucleic acid amplification assays, enabling patients to capture images of reaction chambers and determine test results without the need for healthcare personnel, using image processing and analysis engines to normalize images from different devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional diagnostic tests are performed in centralized laboratories using benchtop equipment, then test reliability and accuracy are improved, but accessibility and convenience deteriorate due to the need for travel and specialized facilities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the core diagnostic function from centralized laboratories by implementing a portable diagnostic device that can be used at home. The device captures images of reaction chambers and transmits them to a remote server for analysis, separating the sample collection function from the complex analysis infrastructure while maintaining diagnostic reliability through server-based image processing
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a mobile device and server as intermediaries between the patient and the diagnostic system. The mobile device captures images and transmits them to the server, which performs the complex image processing and provides results back to the patient, enabling reliable diagnostics without requiring the patient to visit a laboratory
2Measurement precision
If trained personnel are required to analyze diagnostic tests, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and operational difficulty increase due to the need for specialized expertise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service diagnostics where the system automatically performs image processing and analysis without requiring trained personnel. The server-based image processing engine automatically analyzes captured images, determines test results, and provides feedback to patients, eliminating the need for specialized expertise while maintaining diagnostic accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of human expert analysis with an automated computer-based image processing system. The server uses algorithms to analyze images of reaction chambers, replacing the need for trained personnel to visually interpret test results while maintaining or improving measurement precision
3Reliability
If patients mail biological samples to laboratories for testing, then test reliability is maintained, but time consumption increases due to transportation and processing delays
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the time-consuming steps of sample transportation and laboratory processing by enabling on-site image capture and immediate server-based analysis. The diagnostic process is condensed from a multi-day laboratory workflow to an immediate home-based process where results are available within minutes of completing the test
Solution Approach 2:
The patent skips the intermediate steps of sample mailing, laboratory reception, and scheduling by implementing direct home-based testing with immediate server analysis. The system rushes through the diagnostic process by capturing images directly at the patient location and processing them immediately on the server, eliminating all intermediate delays
4Ease of operation
If portable diagnostic devices are used at home, then patient convenience is improved, but measurement precision may deteriorate due to uncontrolled environmental conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the server as an intermediary that receives images from various mobile devices and normalizes them through consistent processing algorithms. The server-based image processing engine compensates for variations in capture conditions by applying standardized processing steps, ensuring measurement precision is maintained despite differences in home testing environments and device variations
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables patients to perform disease diagnostic tests at home with quick and reliable results, reducing the need for central labs and facilitating direct communication of test results to healthcare providers, improving accessibility and efficiency, especially in resource-scarce areas.
Implementation Method 1
the optical property modifying device performs a nucleic acid amplification assay that changes the color of a solution including the biological sample and the optical property modifying reagent in the reaction chambers
Implementation Method 2
The user captures one or more images of the reaction chambers using an optical sensor (e.g., camera) of the mobile device
Data Source
AI summary
A diagnostic system performs disease diagnostic tests using at least an optical property modifying device and a mobile device. A user provides a biological sample from a patient to the optical property modifying device that reacts with a reagent in one or more reaction chambers of the device. The user captures one or more images of the one or more reaction chambers using an optical sensor of the mobile device. The diagnostic system can determine a quality level of the images based on factors such as skew, scale, focusing, shadowing, or white-balancing. Based on an analysis of the captured image, the diagnostic system can determine a test result of a disease diagnostic test for the patient. The diagnostic system may communicate the test result, as well as instructions for the disease diagnostic test, to the user via the mobile device.