Narrator: This is Science Today. Medical imaging is one of the most important advances in medicine, whether it's x-rays, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging or computer tomography. Without it, advanced medicine would not exist - but according to the World Health Organization, only three-quarters of the world population have access to such imaging.

Rubinsky: So, it occurred to me that instead of just developing new and advanced medical imaging, I would be serving humanity and society much more by developing advanced medical imaging that is accessible to everyone around the world. The technology that we have developed employs a very simple device with a component that is attached to the patient.

Narrator: Boris Rubinsky, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, is using electrical impedance tomography along with the ubiquitous cell phone, to transmit data to a central computer that reconstructs an image and sends back to the cell phone for viewing. It's a method that could open up new avenues of health care for the developing world. For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.