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[Bombadil]

Article

Checked but did not find, so posted.

The article details how engineers have created accessories and applications to allow smartphones to help process blood samples and check blood pressure.

This is an amazing direction for us to go in because smartphones are one of the most commonly owned devices in developed nations.

I've always been a cynic when it comes to smartphones because I just thought of them as gimmicks. None of the applications seemed crucial for my survival. But now I see I was wrong. Smartphones have the potential to become one of the most important pieces of technology we will ever own.

By allowing people to perform their own blood tests, we can save a lot of time for ourselves and for doctors. We would no longer have to wait for the results of the blood test. We could perform the diagnostic and allow doctors to interpret the results either from an email sent via phone or once we get to the doctor.

And once other medical technologies become available, and as blood tests become far more comprehensive in scope and inexpensive, we're going to be able to detect harmful infections and diseases without having to wait days or weeks to process the results.

Now, I'm rooting for smartphones to become more and more powerful. If in 10 years smartphones are as powerful as high-end desktops of today, who knows what we can achieve?

 

[Devolution]

I dunno about crucial for survival but bus times and maps are more than handy for me, don't understand why you'd consider that a gimmick.

 

[Bombadil]

I dunno about crucial for survival but bus times and maps are more than handy for me, don't understand why you'd consider that a gimmick.

As a man, I don't use maps.

Edit: The above line was meant to be a joke, but was based on mistaken information of stereotypes.

 

[SpectreFire]

 

[cutmeamango]

As a man, I don't use maps.

Compasses?

 

[Phoenix]

If in 10 years smartphones are as powerful as high-end desktops of today, who knows what we can achieve?

It is absolutely and without question NOT going to take 10 years to be as powerful as high-end desktops of today...

 

[I NEED SCISSORS]

 

[numble]

That's an iPod

 

[ClassyPenguin]

It might be good for diabetics and others who need to keep track of things like that.
IBM's Watson computer is doing something similar for better diagnostics. This article is rubbish like most science articles are.

 

[paully]

That's an iPod

the operating system is the same, and it's pretty much the same device...so it doesn't matter

 

[Bombadil]

It might be good for diabetics and others who need to keep track of things like that.
IBM's Watson computer is doing something similar.

Yup. Those discrete blood glucose monitoring devices are probably going to become obsolete due to this.

It is absolutely and without question NOT going to take 10 years to be as powerful as high-end desktops of today...

Is a standard smartphone of today - let's say a Samsung Galaxy S3 - more powerful than a high end PC from 2003? I honestly don't know.

 

[CF_Fighter]

It is absolutely and without question NOT going to take 10 years to be as powerful as high-end desktops of today...

Yep already at 1.9 gHz quad core and 1.7 gHz octa-core and you're matching some mid-range systems today.

 

[Cyan]

As a man, I don't use maps.

You don't know what you're missing, dude. This GPS shit is life-changing.

 

[Devolution]

You don't know what you're missing, dude. This GPS shit is life-changing.

I also have a happy hour app.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

I wonder how many hundreds of dollars they will charge people to check their temperature with a cell phone.

 

[Dr.Guru of Peru]

Eh, what? We've had home blood tests and blood pressure cuffs for ages. The only difference is that your results now get displayed on your smartphone (and you still have to buy a gigantic attachment to actually do the test). Big fucking deal.

 

[Choabac]

It might be good for diabetics and others who need to keep track of things like that.
IBM's Watson computer is doing something similar for better diagnostics. This article is rubbish like most science articles are.

Smart phones show great potential as point of care diagnostic devices. If the cost of smart phones continues to decrease and it becomes even more prolific in developing countries, then I can envisage many applications such as water and food testing and pathogen detection in human samples that could performed onsite. Basically you have a portable computer in your pocket and then with the use of an appropriate attachment, you've got a cheap, mobile laboratory.

 

[ClassyPenguin]

Smart phones show great potential as point of care diagnostic devices. If the cost of smart phones continues to decrease and it becomes even more prolific in developing countries, then I can envisage many applications such as water and food testing and pathogen detection in human samples that could performed onsite. Basically you have a portable computer in your pocket and then with the use of an appropriate attachment, you've got a cheap, mobile laboratory.

Except costs go magically up in the healthcare market in the US no matter how cheap the tools.

And it is still not the norm to have digital databases of patient records.

 

[Bombadil]

Eh, what? We've had home blood tests and blood pressure cuffs for ages. The only difference is that your results now get displayed on your smartphone (and you still have to buy a gigantic attachment to actually do the test). Big fucking deal.

Don't scoff at progress.

 

[Defuser]

Smartphones...phones that can almost do anything at a cost of short battery life :/

 

[Blearth]

The Withings monitor ($129), which you slide onto your upper arm, syncs up with a free app for the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.

Another company, iHealth, will soon release a wireless wrist cuff for Apple devices.

The iBGStar blood glucose monitoring system ($74.99 at Walgreens) attaches discreetly to the bottom of your iPhone or iPod Touch

The new Cardiio app ($4.99) takes your heart rate with the iPhone or iPad camera

The iPhone camera also works with CellScope's clip-on ear scope

More like "iPhones to Become Medical Diagnostic Tools"

Not one mention of any other mobile OS in the article.

 

[Choabac]

Except costs go magically up in the healthcare market in the US no matter how cheap the tools.

And it is still not the norm to have digital databases of patient records.

That may be the case in the US, but the examples that I gave are for resource limited countries, where a point of care device would remove the need to send the sample back to a lab for analysis. That saves time and money. Also, they would need to be easy to use, so no to limited training to properly operate the device.

 

[Phoenix]

Is a standard smartphone of today - let's say a Samsung Galaxy S3 - more powerful than a high end PC from 2003? I honestly don't know.

The ones from last year are a tad more powerful (A9s) and the A-15s are in the neighborhood of the first revs of Core 2s. What's really happening isn't so much 'innovation' as advancement in manufacturing and miniaturization.

 

[Bombadil]

More like "iPhones to Become Medical Diagnostic Tools"

Not one mention of any other mobile OS in the article.

I highly doubt that Google isn't working on getting these kinds of apps on their platform.

The ones from last year are a tad more powerful (A9s) and the A-15s are in the neighborhood of the first revs of Core 2s. What's really happening isn't so much 'innovation' as advancement in manufacturing and miniaturization.

Wow. Core 2s first came out in 2006. So, a 7 year period is pretty good.

And it is still not the norm to have digital databases of patient records.

That's also being addressed. In 2014, the cost of a comprehensive genome sequencing test will be $1,000. In 2011, the cost was something like $100,000. That's an amazing drop. Gene registries will be standard in future healthcare.

 

[Phoenix]

Eh, what? We've had home blood tests and blood pressure cuffs for ages. The only difference is that your results now get displayed on your smartphone (and you still have to buy a gigantic attachment to actually do the test). Big fucking deal.

The big deal is that people are more able to track their medical history via the device and are more likely to do so because of the convenience of having the thing sitting with them. Your argument is pretty much the same as those who were arguing against convergence back when cameras were being added to phones - "I can already take pictures and do it better than the one on a phone" and then mobile photography started killing off standard point and shoots with rabid ferocity.

Convenience and convergence are incredibly important - especially in the medical arena.

 

[The Faceless Master]

As a man, I don't use maps.

what the fuck is this?

i love GPS devices and so does every dude i know!

 

[Bombadil]

what the fuck is this?

i love GPS devices and so does every dude i know!

It's a joke. You've never heard of the stereotype about men and maps?

 

[Yaboosh]

It's a joke. You've never heard of the stereotype about men and maps?

There is no stereotype about men and maps. There are stereotypes about men and asking for directions. Ability to use a map is something men would generally be proud of.

 

[Steelrain]

It's a joke. You've never heard of the stereotype about men and maps?

Eh..... I think you're confused.

 

[Bombadil]

Ah okay. My bad.

Anyway, what do you guys think of the thread topic?

 

[KingofGourds]

Mobile phones inspired by tricorders, now mobile phones are on the way to becoming tricorders.

It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.