Can a Smartphone Do What Your Doctor Does?

By ABC News

Apr 27, 2013 7:00am
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By Meera Dalal, M.D.



The result: accessible, affordable $200 phone accessories, most of them approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as “equivalency standards,” meaning they’re equal to the industry standard. This technology could improve access to these tests, cut down on referrals, and provide overall better care.

“It’s great for primary care physicians, new doctors with less experience, teaching and even some patients,” said Shiv Gaglani, a medical student at Johns Hopkins and curator of the exhibit. “Some physicians can go through their entire training without really learning to look into an eye.”

But I was skeptical. In medicine, we learn to question everything. If my own mother came to me saying hugs were good for a cold, I would take the hug, then ask to see the evidence. So I decided to try it out. Gaglani would be my “doctor” for this 10-minute exam using the following gadgets:

Blood Pressure Monitor by Withings and Blood Oxygen Monitor by iSp02

We started off, like in all physical exams, by taking the vital signs: blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygenation. The screen buzzed with colorful readings and real-time measurements, and then uploaded my information into an iPad, where I could get it through an app.  It was a start, but I wasn’t that impressed. The technology for “automated vital signs” had been around for a while, and a few years ago I taught my 7-year-old cousin how to use the machine on my grandmother.

ECG Cellphone Case by AliveCor


iExaminer by Welch Allyn



This smartphone looked at lung function, which usually is tested at a special lab during an uncomfortable exam. Guidelines for chronic lung diseases such as asthma, cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease  suggest these tests should be done regularly, but because it is often inconvenient to make a separate trip, they’re  underused. It would be great if these tests were more accessible.

“Unlike the lab machine, which uses pressure, this device uses sound and has been shown to be almost as accurate,” said SpiroSmart co-creator Mayank Goel. “This opens up so many doors; imagine even being able to do this test over the phone!”



Studies looking at “inter-rater reliability,” the concept of how likely is it that different people interpreting the same physical exam sign will get the same diagnosis, show that technology is often better for gathering consistently objective information.


“It can enable primary care anywhere. And even though we need to do more testing to ensure accuracy, the potential is great,” Kraft said.


“Our ability to gather data is overtaking our ability to pare it down and use it to improve our health,” said TedMed editor-in-chief John Benditt.

And it’s true. The creation of complex devices and technology is surpassing our ability to learn it and use it to its full potential before the “next big thing” comes out. What I’d really like to see is an ECG machine and BP machine that combines data with the lung machine and uploads it to the same profile. Arguably, the next big challenge in medicine may not be the creation of new technology but finding a way to integrate existing ones.

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