Cell Phones Could Prevent Cancer

The Japanese company, Macnica has shown off a UV light detector that is no bigger than a grain of rice, at Tokyo's Embedded Systems Expo & Conference (ESEC). The UV detector has been developed at the behest of an unknown cell phone manufacturer, ostensibly to include a UV monitoring service in the handset. With rising concerns about the risks of cancer from UV rays, not to mention the phones themselves, it seems that the manufacturer is trying to make doubly sure they cannot be blamed for rising cancer rates by trying to prevent sun burn as well.

The sensor is sensitive to a wavelength range of 270nm to 410nm (UV-A and UV-B waves). Having almost no sensitivity to visible light, it does not work as a light sensor - so cannot be used to automatically switch cameras in cell phones to "night mode".

Macnica already has begun shipping samples of the UV sensor, which it believes is the worlds smallest sensor that responds to UV-A and UV-B waves alone. Mass production should begin by year end, according to the company."

Posted to the site on 16th July 2003