NTT DoCoMo announced that in experiments with the University of Tokyo, it has successfully demonstrated the world’s first molecular delivery system for molecular communication. This system could one day be incorporated into cellphones enabling instant remote diagnosis of the user’s health and emotional state.
A cell phone could be equipped with a small biochip for analysis that would be able to extract single molecules from the user’s sweat, or blood. After analyzing the data could alert the user to a range of diseases, or simply the person’s level of stress, anxiety or excitement.
The data generated from the biochip would be transmitted to a medical specialist over the cellular network. DoCoMo says the system could be used, for example, for remote health checks or preventive medicine.
A mobile phone with a biochip could also have applications in the fields of environment (e.g., water analysis) and entertainment (e.g., fortune telling).
DoCoMo and The University of Tokyo are continuing their collaborative research into practical uses of molecular communication to identify applicable molecules and to develop an actual molecular delivery system for installation in a biochip.The experiment has confirmed the feasibility of a proposed delivery system to transport specific molecules using artificially synthesized DNAs and chemically energized motor proteins, typically found in muscles and nerve cells, which are capable of moving autonomously by converting chemical energy into mechanical work.
The system, which functions on its own because it does not require external power supply or control, could help lead to the realization of a biochemical analyzer, or biochip, a fingertip-sized microchip for biological and chemical analysis.
The envisioned molecular delivery system could have many applications in medicine and healthcare. For instance, it may be possible to diagnose diseases or stress by directly analyzing biomolecules in a drop of sweat or blood using a mobile phone equipped with a biochip. The molecular delivery system would be packaged in the biochip, and the data generated in the biochemical analysis would be transmitted to a medical specialist via a mobile phone using traditional wireless technology. The system could be used, for example, for remote health checks or preventive medicine.