SCIENTISTS have patented a “death test” that can tell people how long they have left to live. The simple, non-invasive test is the first of its kind in the world.

A painless laser pulse is applied to the surface of the skin through a wristwatch-style device. This measures how a person’s body will decline with age by analysing endothelial cells. These cells line the smallest blood vessels, capillaries, in our bodies and respond to complex activity elsewhere in the body.

By measuring the oscillations within the cells, the scientists say they can calculate the length of time before death and also test for diseases including cancer and dementia.

The result is graded from 0 for death to 100 for optimum functioning. The predictions become more