IEEE Spectrum June, 2015 - 48

Part 1: Reading the Code

diagnostics

an application running on a phone
or tablet as the main user interface.
The app-a kind of AI doctor-will
start by asking you a series of questions: Do you have a headache? Are
you feeling dizzy? Did you vomit?
It may also ask you about your age,
weight, height, and medical history.
Next, it will collect your vitals, measured by a sensing device you wear

on your body-a fitness tracker-style
wristband, or maybe an electronic
necklace. (The competition calls for
this monitor to be able to gather data
for 72 hours, even while you sleep.)
Depending on your answers and vital
signs, the app may ask you to perform some additional tests. These
you will do using yet another piece
of hardware, a kind of "lab in a box"

t r i c o r d e r s ta n d - i n

Your Smartphone
C a n a s m a r t p h o n e tricked out with gizmos and apps replace a

doctor's traditional diagnostic tools? We'll soon find out. Capitalizing on
the impressive sensors and processing power in today's smartphones,
startups are turning them into mobile diagnostic and monitoring
instruments for both consumers and health care workers. As capable as
some of these innovations already are, it's unclear whether they will pass
muster with government regulators, which is why many of their makers
are not yet touting them as bona fide medical devices. -Sarah Lewin

p E d i at r i c s

ophthalmology

unit, which will be able to perform
certain diagnostic tests using samples of saliva, urine, or blood.
Finally, after receiving the test
results and crunching all the other
data, the app will give you a diagnosis
and direct you to more information
such as reliable medical resources or
support groups for people with that
disease. It may also include a "call
your doctor" button, or it may even
dial an emergency number.
Some teams are building devices
that you could mistake for a "Star
Trek" prop. Scanadu, before it joined
the XPrize competition, ran a highly
successful crowdfunding campaign
to develop Scout, a sleek white disc
you place against your forehead.
Packed with sensors, the little device
measures heart rate, skin and core
body temperature, respiration rate,
blood pressure and oxygen saturation, and electrocardiogram (ECG)
data. For the XPrize, it's unclear
whether the company will use the

otology

baby Vital-signs
checker

Eye
Examiner

Eardrum
inspector

The oWlet smart sock keeps tabs on an
infant's heart rate and blood-oxygen levels. LEDs
shine red and infrared light through the foot,
and sensors measure how that light is absorbed
by oxygen-carrying hemoglobin molecules in
arterial blood. The sock transmits this data over
Bluetooth to a base station and to the smartphone
of the nearby (and presumably anxious) parent.
prIce: US $250 (available for preorder)

The portaBle eye examInatIon kIt
(peek) adds a lens adapter to the smartphone's
camera. Health care workers in remote locations
can then use the phone to scan a patient's
retina for disease and to check for cataracts.
Associated smartphone apps can be used to test
the patient's vision.
prIce: £70 (available for preorder; not available
in the United States)

The oto turns an iPhone into an otoscope that
uses the phone's camera to view the eardrum
at high magnification. With the home version,
parents can send images of their children's
eardrums to on-call clinicians to diagnose
middle-ear infections. A pro version allows
doctors to share images with their patients.
prIce: US $79 for the Oto Home (currently
available only in California); $299 for the Oto Clinic

48

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jun 2015

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north american

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SPectrum.ieee.orG

illuSTraTionS by

James Provost
http://SPectrum.ieee.orG
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Spectrum June, 2015
