SENSORS ON THE PHONE

Asmartphone can assume multiple avatars these days depending on what sensors are embedded or attached.

A gyroscope which senses the way you are holding the phone and adjusts the display; an accelerometer that lets you shake the phone to switch it on and off; a GPS chip that helps you navigate with a map app — all these are fairly common. Increasingly, phones come with Near Field Communication ( NFC) which lets you “wave and pay” at checkout counters. A simple app can turn the microphone on the phone into a sound level metre. There are strong rumours that when the new iPhone 8 is launched, it will have a facial recognition sensor: Look at the phone and it will open — only for you.

But what about a phone as an ECG recorder? From Alivecor.com comes the Kardia Mobile, a small pad on which you place your fingers. It captures a medical-grade ECG in 30 seconds and delivers the trace to your smartphone. You can check anytime, if your heart rhythm is normal, or if atrial fibrillation is detected. And cardiac patients can self-monitor their heart at home and mail the trace to their doctor for an expert opinion. It costs around `15,000 on Amazon.