Smartphone sensors pick up on disease

SMARTPHONES will in future be used to monitor bone density, calculate red blood cell levels and predict an imminent asthma attack, a US conference was told.

Prof Shwetak Patel, of the University of Washington, is devising an app which can detect red blood cell levels simply by placing a finger over the camera and flash, so that a bright beam of light shines through the skin.

He also believes that users will be able to bang phones against their bones to check for osteoporosis and use the microphone to test lung function.

At the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in Boston, Prof Patel said that “sensors on the mobile phone can be repurposed for diagnosing certain diseases. You can do pulmonary assessment using the microphone on a mobile device for diagnosing asthma.”

“This could really change how we diagnose and screen diseases,” he added.