Brunel University graduate Imogen Adams has created a portable allergen tester designed to put people with a food intolerance at ease during meals out at the array of restaurants Manchester has to offer.
This will be a massive relief for those who suffer from a severe allergy, who are always scared in case their food has been contaminated and for those whose reactions could prove fatal.
This new, impressive device has been named “Ally” after the thing it tests for; allergies! It also has a double meaning as “ally” also means “friend” and this device will definitely prove to be a true trusted and valued friend when it saves your life after detecting a small amount of your trigger food in your meal.
The device was originally designed to detect lactose within foods but will eventually be developed to be able to detect a vast array of produce including nuts, seafood, meat and wheat, all of which can cause pain and irritation.
How do I use the device?
As well as being small, portable and slick, the device is super easy to use. All one would need to do is crush a small amount of the sample food together with a couple of drops of water and insert it into a small silicone pod. A test strip is then dipped into the mix of food and water and this strip is then inserted into the device. If the allergen is present then the strip will change colour and a high level of a colour change indicates a higher concentration of the allergen within the meal.
An app has also been designed which will eventually accompany the Ally device. The device will be able to connect to the allergy sufferer’s phone through Bluetooth and the user will then simply need to press a small button in the middle of the device to test the sample on the strip. The test takes a mere 60 seconds to process.
What’s great about this is that the results will be saved in the app and if the allergy sufferer does not want to look at their phone during the meal, the phone can simply vibrate to indicate a negative or a positive test result. Once these results are saved in the app they can be shared online and the best bit about this is that you can help other allergy sufferers by leaving a review about the restaurant and how allergy-friendly they really are!
How much does it cost?
The device only costs around £18 to manufacture and the test strips simply cost between 2 and 3p each to make. Therefore this should be a very competitive and affordable product to use. Furthermore, the design of the ally allergen testing device is simple and very minimalistic, so super easy to use for people of all ages. This device will prove to be invaluable for many allergy sufferers and is well worth the small cost to save your life.
