Measuring and influencing physical activity with smartphone technology: a systematic review.

PubMed

Bort-Roig, Judit; Gilson, Nicholas D; Puig-Ribera, Anna; Contreras, Ruth S; Trost, Stewart G

2014-05-01

Rapid developments in technology have encouraged the use of smartphones in physical activity research, although little is known regarding their effectiveness as measurement and intervention tools. This study systematically reviewed evidence on smartphones and their viability for measuring and influencing physical activity. Research articles were identified in September 2013 by literature searches in Web of Knowledge, PubMed, PsycINFO, EBSCO, and ScienceDirect. The search was restricted using the terms (physical activity OR exercise OR fitness) AND (smartphone* OR mobile phone* OR cell phone*) AND (measurement OR intervention). Reviewed articles were required to be published in international academic peer-reviewed journals, or in full text from international scientific conferences, and focused on measuring physical activity through smartphone processing data and influencing people to be more active through smartphone applications. Two reviewers independently performed the selection of articles and examined titles and abstracts to exclude those out of scope. Data on study characteristics, technologies used to objectively measure physical activity, strategies applied to influence activity; and the main study findings were extracted and reported. A total of 26 articles (with the first published in 2007) met inclusion criteria. All studies were conducted in highly economically advantaged countries; 12 articles focused on special populations (e.g. obese patients). Studies measured physical activity using native mobile features, and/or an external device linked to an application. Measurement accuracy ranged from 52 to 100% (n = 10 studies). A total of 17 articles implemented and evaluated an intervention. Smartphone strategies to influence physical activity tended to be ad hoc, rather than theory-based approaches; physical activity profiles, goal setting, real-time feedback, social support networking, and online expert consultation were identified as the most useful strategies to encourage physical activity change. Only five studies assessed physical activity intervention effects; all used step counts as the outcome measure. Four studies (three pre-post and one comparative) reported physical activity increases (12-42 participants, 800-1,104 steps/day, 2 weeks-6 months), and one case-control study reported physical activity maintenance (n = 200 participants; >10,000 steps/day) over 3 months. Smartphone use is a relatively new field of study in physical activity research, and consequently the evidence base is emerging. Few studies identified in this review considered the validity of phone-based assessment of physical activity. Those that did report on measurement properties found average-to-excellent levels of accuracy for different behaviors. The range of novel and engaging intervention strategies used by smartphones, and user perceptions on their usefulness and viability, highlights the potential such technology has for physical activity promotion. However, intervention effects reported in the extant literature are modest at best, and future studies need to utilize randomized controlled trial research designs, larger sample sizes, and longer study periods to better explore the physical activity measurement and intervention capabilities of smartphones.

A User Study: Keyboard and Applications to Simplify Smartphone Adoption for Seniors.

PubMed

Austad, Hanne O; Liverud, Anders E; Chan, Richard; Røhne, Mette

2017-01-01

The aim of the user study was to evaluate how the developed assistive physical keyboard, the Ezi-PAD, and integrated senior friendly applications, can encourage non-smartphone seniors to start using the smartphone and enable senior smartphone users to continue using a smartphone in spite of increasing motoric or visual impairment. A number of seniors with different experience and impairment, aged 64 to 86, were equipped with a smartphone and an Ezi-PAD assembly. After basic training, their use of the smartphone was monitored for up to 2 months. Five out of nine participants used the system for 2 months, and found the Ezi-PAD easy to use. The senior friendly applications gave extra utilitarian value to the phone.

A systematic review of healthcare applications for smartphones.

PubMed

Mosa, Abu Saleh Mohammad; Yoo, Illhoi; Sheets, Lincoln

2012-07-10

Advanced mobile communications and portable computation are now combined in handheld devices called "smartphones", which are also capable of running third-party software. The number of smartphone users is growing rapidly, including among healthcare professionals. The purpose of this study was to classify smartphone-based healthcare technologies as discussed in academic literature according to their functionalities, and summarize articles in each category. In April 2011, MEDLINE was searched to identify articles that discussed the design, development, evaluation, or use of smartphone-based software for healthcare professionals, medical or nursing students, or patients. A total of 55 articles discussing 83 applications were selected for this study from 2,894 articles initially obtained from the MEDLINE searches. A total of 83 applications were documented: 57 applications for healthcare professionals focusing on disease diagnosis (21), drug reference (6), medical calculators (8), literature search (6), clinical communication (3), Hospital Information System (HIS) client applications (4), medical training (2) and general healthcare applications (7); 11 applications for medical or nursing students focusing on medical education; and 15 applications for patients focusing on disease management with chronic illness (6), ENT-related (4), fall-related (3), and two other conditions (2). The disease diagnosis, drug reference, and medical calculator applications were reported as most useful by healthcare professionals and medical or nursing students. Many medical applications for smartphones have been developed and widely used by health professionals and patients. The use of smartphones is getting more attention in healthcare day by day. Medical applications make smartphones useful tools in the practice of evidence-based medicine at the point of care, in addition to their use in mobile clinical communication. Also, smartphones can play a very important role in patient education, disease self-management, and remote monitoring of patients.

Assessing the Feasibility of Smartphone Apps for HIV-Care Research with MSM and Transgender Individuals in Mpumalanga, South Africa.

PubMed

Daniels, Joseph; Lane, Tim; Struthers, Helen; Maleke, Kabelo; Moges, Winta; McIntyre, James; Coates, Thomas

There is an urgent need to develop the HIV treatment cascade for men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender individuals in rural Mpumalanga, South Africa. Mhealth tools such as smartphone applications have the potential to support HIV self-care behaviors. We conducted an exploratory study with HIV-positive community leaders to understand their current uses of cell phones and smartphones and to assess their interest in an HIV research study that utilized a smartphone application for HIV care support. A total of 18 community leaders were recruited to complete a questionnaire and focus group. We found that a large proportion of participants had smartphone access and were interested in a research study that utilized a smartphone application with secure access measures. We conclude that smartphone applications for HIV care research are feasible based on access and interest by MSM and transgender individuals in this rural setting.

Novel algorithm for a smartphone-based 6-minute walk test application: algorithm, application development, and evaluation.

PubMed

Capela, Nicole A; Lemaire, Edward D; Baddour, Natalie

2015-02-20

The 6-minute walk test (6MWT: the maximum distance walked in 6 minutes) is used by rehabilitation professionals as a measure of exercise capacity. Today's smartphones contain hardware that can be used for wearable sensor applications and mobile data analysis. A smartphone application can run the 6MWT and provide typically unavailable biomechanical information about how the person moves during the test. A new algorithm for a calibration-free 6MWT smartphone application was developed that uses the test's inherent conditions and smartphone accelerometer-gyroscope data to report the total distance walked, step timing, gait symmetry, and walking changes over time. This information is not available with a standard 6MWT and could help with clinical decision-making. The 6MWT application was evaluated with 15 able-bodied participants. A BlackBerry Z10 smartphone was worn on a belt at the mid lower back. Audio from the phone instructed the person to start and stop walking. Digital video was independently recorded during the trial as a gold-standard comparator. The average difference between smartphone and gold standard foot strike timing was 0.014 ± 0.015 s. The total distance calculated by the application was within 1 m of the measured distance for all but one participant, which was more accurate than other smartphone-based studies. These results demonstrated that clinically relevant 6MWT results can be achieved with typical smartphone hardware and a novel algorithm.

Evaluation of knee range of motion: Correlation between measurements using a universal goniometer and a smartphone goniometric application.

PubMed

Dos Santos, Rafael Aparecido; Derhon, Viviane; Brandalize, Michelle; Brandalize, Danielle; Rossi, Luciano Pavan

2017-07-01

Goniometers are commonly used to measure range of motion in the musculoskeletal system. Recently smartphone goniometry applications have become available to clinicians. Compare angular measures using a universal goniometer and a smartphone application. Thirty four healthy women with at least 20° of limited range of motion regarding knee extension were recruited. Knee flexion angles of the dominant limb were measured with a universal goniometer and the ROM © goniometric application for the smartphone. Three trained examiners compared the two assessment tools. Strong correlations were found between the measures of the universal goniometer and smartphone application (Pearson's correlation and interclass correlation coefficient > 0.93). The measurements with both devices demonstrated low dispersion and little variation. Measurements obtained using the smartphone goniometric application analyzed are as reliable as those of a universal goniometer. This application is therefore a useful tool for the evaluation of knee range of motion. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Towards remote assessment and screening of acute abdominal pain using only a smartphone with native accelerometers.

PubMed

Myers, David R; Weiss, Alexander; Rollins, Margo R; Lam, Wilbur A

2017-10-06

Smartphone-based telehealth holds the promise of shifting healthcare from the clinic to the home, but the inability for clinicians to conduct remote palpation, or touching, a key component of the physical exam, remains a major limitation. This is exemplified in the assessment of acute abdominal pain, in which a physician's palpation determines if a patient's pain is life-threatening requiring emergency intervention/surgery or due to some less-urgent cause. In a step towards virtual physical examinations, we developed and report for the first time a "touch-capable" mHealth technology that enables a patient's own hands to serve as remote surrogates for the physician's in the screening of acute abdominal pain. Leveraging only a smartphone with its native accelerometers, our system guides a patient through an exact probing motion that precisely matches the palpation motion set by the physician. An integrated feedback algorithm, with 95% sensitivity and specificity, enabled 81% of tested patients to match a physician abdominal palpation curve with <20% error after 6 attempts. Overall, this work addresses a key issue in telehealth that will vastly improve its capabilities and adoption worldwide.

A Smartphone Application Suite for Assessing Mobility.

PubMed

Madhushri, Priyanka; Dzhagaryan, Armen A; Jovanov, Emil; Milenkovic, Aleksandar

2016-08-01

Modern smartphones integrate a growing number of inertial and environmental sensors that can enable the development of new mobile health applications. In this paper we introduce a suite of smartphone applications for assessing mobility in elderly population. The suite currently includes applications that automate and quantify the following standardized medical tests for assessing mobility: Timed-Up-and-Go (TUG), 30 Seconds Chair Stand Test (30SCS), and a 4-stage Balance Test (4SBT). For each smartphone application we describe its functionality and a list of parameters extracted by processing signals from smartphone's inertial sensors. The paper shows the results from studies conducted on geriatric patients for TUG tests and from studies conducted in the laboratory on healthy subjects for 30SCS and 4SBT tests.

A Systematic Review of Healthcare Applications for Smartphones

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Advanced mobile communications and portable computation are now combined in handheld devices called “smartphones”, which are also capable of running third-party software. The number of smartphone users is growing rapidly, including among healthcare professionals. The purpose of this study was to classify smartphone-based healthcare technologies as discussed in academic literature according to their functionalities, and summarize articles in each category. Methods In April 2011, MEDLINE was searched to identify articles that discussed the design, development, evaluation, or use of smartphone-based software for healthcare professionals, medical or nursing students, or patients. A total of 55 articles discussing 83 applications were selected for this study from 2,894 articles initially obtained from the MEDLINE searches. Results A total of 83 applications were documented: 57 applications for healthcare professionals focusing on disease diagnosis (21), drug reference (6), medical calculators (8), literature search (6), clinical communication (3), Hospital Information System (HIS) client applications (4), medical training (2) and general healthcare applications (7); 11 applications for medical or nursing students focusing on medical education; and 15 applications for patients focusing on disease management with chronic illness (6), ENT-related (4), fall-related (3), and two other conditions (2). The disease diagnosis, drug reference, and medical calculator applications were reported as most useful by healthcare professionals and medical or nursing students. Conclusions Many medical applications for smartphones have been developed and widely used by health professionals and patients. The use of smartphones is getting more attention in healthcare day by day. Medical applications make smartphones useful tools in the practice of evidence-based medicine at the point of care, in addition to their use in mobile clinical communication. Also, smartphones can play a very important role in patient education, disease self-management, and remote monitoring of patients. PMID:22781312

Smartphone applications: A contemporary resource for dermatopathology

PubMed Central

Hanna, Matthew G.; Parwani, Anil V.; Pantanowitz, Liron; Punjabi, Vinod; Singh, Rajendra

2015-01-01

Introduction: Smartphone applications in medicine are becoming increasingly prevalent. Given that most pathologists and pathology trainees today use smartphones, an obvious modality for pathology education is through smartphone applications. “MyDermPath” is a novel smartphone application that was developed as an interactive reference tool for dermatology and dermatopathology, available for iOS and Android. Materials and Methods: “MyDermPath” was developed using Apple Xcode and Google Android SDK. Dermatology images (static and virtual slides) were annotated and configured into an algorithmic format. Each image comprised educational data (diagnosis, clinical information, histopathology, special stains, differential diagnosis, clinical management, linked PubMed references). Added functionality included personal note taking, pop quiz, and image upload capabilities. A website was created (http://mydermpath.com) to mirror the app. Results: The application was released in August 2011 and updated in November 2013. More than 1,100 reference diagnoses, with over 2,000 images are available via the application and website. The application has been downloaded approximately 14,000 times. The application is available for use on iOS and Android platforms. Conclusions: Smartphone applications have tremendous potential for advancing pathology education. “MyDermPath” represents an interactive reference tool for dermatology and dermatopathologists. PMID:26284155

Smartphone applications: A contemporary resource for dermatopathology.

PubMed

Hanna, Matthew G; Parwani, Anil V; Pantanowitz, Liron; Punjabi, Vinod; Singh, Rajendra

2015-01-01

Smartphone applications in medicine are becoming increasingly prevalent. Given that most pathologists and pathology trainees today use smartphones, an obvious modality for pathology education is through smartphone applications. "MyDermPath" is a novel smartphone application that was developed as an interactive reference tool for dermatology and dermatopathology, available for iOS and Android. "MyDermPath" was developed using Apple Xcode and Google Android SDK. Dermatology images (static and virtual slides) were annotated and configured into an algorithmic format. Each image comprised educational data (diagnosis, clinical information, histopathology, special stains, differential diagnosis, clinical management, linked PubMed references). Added functionality included personal note taking, pop quiz, and image upload capabilities. A website was created (http://mydermpath.com) to mirror the app. The application was released in August 2011 and updated in November 2013. More than 1,100 reference diagnoses, with over 2,000 images are available via the application and website. The application has been downloaded approximately 14,000 times. The application is available for use on iOS and Android platforms. Smartphone applications have tremendous potential for advancing pathology education. "MyDermPath" represents an interactive reference tool for dermatology and dermatopathologists.

Time distortion associated with smartphone addiction: Identifying smartphone addiction via a mobile application (App).

PubMed

Lin, Yu-Hsuan; Lin, Yu-Cheng; Lee, Yang-Han; Lin, Po-Hsien; Lin, Sheng-Hsuan; Chang, Li-Ren; Tseng, Hsien-Wei; Yen, Liang-Yu; Yang, Cheryl C H; Kuo, Terry B J

2015-06-01

Global smartphone penetration has brought about unprecedented addictive behaviors. We report a proposed diagnostic criteria and the designing of a mobile application (App) to identify smartphone addiction. We used a novel empirical mode decomposition (EMD) to delineate the trend in smartphone use over one month. The daily use count and the trend of this frequency are associated with smartphone addiction. We quantify excessive use by daily use duration and frequency, as well as the relationship between the tolerance symptoms and the trend for the median duration of a use epoch. The psychiatrists' assisted self-reporting use time is significant lower than and the recorded total smartphone use time via the App and the degree of underestimation was positively correlated with actual smartphone use. Our study suggests the identification of smartphone addiction by diagnostic interview and via the App-generated parameters with EMD analysis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Smartphone usage among ROTU and its relationship towards study performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redzuan, Muhammad Fazrul Ilahi Mohd; Roslan, Mohamad Amri; Rahman, Rosshairy Abd

2015-12-01

Reserve Officer Training Unit (ROTU) is a cooperation program between the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Higher Education for undergraduate students in public university. ROTU is known for its tight training schedule which might lead to limited learning time. The usage of smartphone with various applications might assist them in their learning activities. Therefore, this study aims to discover the rate of smartphone usage among ROTU and then analyze the relationship of smartphone usage towards their study performance. The result shows that most of the ROTU students use smartphone for five to eight hours a day. No significant correlation between relationship of smartphone and study performance of ROTU students with very small positive relationship was recorded. The result reflects that the frequent use of smartphone applications among ROTU students could not significantly help them in the study. However, further study need to be carried out since this paper does not specifically focus on each type of application. Therefore, for future research, usage rate for each application is also needed to be discovered so that the usage impact for ROTU study performance on each application can be seen clearly.

Comparison of smartphone application-based vital sign monitors without external hardware versus those used in clinical practice: a prospective trial.

PubMed

Alexander, John C; Minhajuddin, Abu; Joshi, Girish P

2017-08-01

Use of healthcare-related smartphone applications is common. However, there is concern that inaccurate information from these applications may lead patients to make erroneous healthcare decisions. The objective of this study is to study smartphone applications purporting to measure vital sign data using only onboard technology compared with monitors used routinely in clinical practice. This is a prospective trial comparing correlation between a clinically utilized vital sign monitor (Propaq CS, WelchAllyn, Skaneateles Falls, NY, USA) and four smartphone application-based monitors Instant Blood Pressure, Instant Blood Pressure Pro, Pulse Oximeter, and Pulse Oximeter Pro. We performed measurements of heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressures (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and oxygen saturation (SpO 2 ) using standard monitor and four smartphone applications. Analysis of variance was used to compare measurements from the applications to the routine monitor. The study was completed on 100 healthy volunteers. Comparison of routine monitor with the smartphone applications shows significant differences in terms of HR, SpO 2 and DBP. The SBP values from the applications were not significantly different from those from the routine monitor, but had wide limits of agreement signifying a large degree of variation in the compared values. The degree of correlation between monitors routinely used in clinical practice and the smartphone-based applications studied is insufficient to recommend clinical utilization. This lack of correlation suggests that the applications evaluated do not provide clinically meaningful data. The inaccurate data provided by these applications can potentially contribute to patient harm.

Adapting a Psychosocial Intervention for Smartphone Delivery to Middle-Aged and Older Adults with Serious Mental Illness.

PubMed

Whiteman, Karen L; Lohman, Matthew C; Gill, Lydia E; Bruce, Martha L; Bartels, Stephen J

2017-08-01

To describe the process of adapting an integrated medical and psychiatric self-management intervention to a smartphone application for middle-aged and older adults with serious mental illness using an adaptive systems engineering framework and user-centered design. First, we determined the technical abilities and needs of middle-aged and older adults with serious mental illnesses using smartphones. Then, we developed smartphone content through principles of user-centered design and modified an existing smartphone platform. Finally, we conducted a usability test using "think aloud" and verbal probing. We adapted a psychosocial self-management intervention to a smartphone application and tested its usability. Ten participants (mean age: 55.3 years, SD: 6.2 years) with serious mental illness and comorbid chronic health conditions reported a high level of usability and satisfaction with the smartphone application. Middle-aged and older adults with serious mental illness and limited technical abilities were able to participate in a process involving user-centered design and adaptation of a self-management intervention to be delivered by a smartphone. High usability ratings suggest that middle-aged and older adults with serious mental illness have the potential to use tailored smartphone interventions. Future research is indicated to establish effectiveness and to determine the type and intensity of clinical support needed to successfully implement smartphone applications as a component of community-based services for older adults with psychiatric and medical conditions. Copyright © 2017 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Android Smartphone Relevance to Military Weather Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-10-01

lithium -ion battery that may be replaced by the user (unlike Apple iPod Touch devices), thus spare batteries can be carried. If there is only sporadic...Android Smartphone Relevance to Military Weather Applications by David Sauter ARL-TR-5793 October 2011...Android Smartphone Relevance to Military Weather Applications David Sauter Computational and Information Sciences Directorate, ARL

Evaluation of a smartphone nutrition and physical activity application to provide lifestyle advice to pregnant women: The SNAPP randomised trial.

PubMed

Dodd, Jodie M; Louise, Jennie; Cramp, Courtney; Grivell, Rosalie M; Moran, Lisa J; Deussen, Andrea R

2018-01-01

Our objective was to evaluate the impact of a smartphone application as an adjunct to face-to-face consultations in facilitating dietary and physical activity change among pregnant women. This multicentre, nested randomised trial involved pregnant women with a body mass index ≥18.5 kg/m 2 , with a singleton pregnancy between 10 and 20 weeks' gestation, and participating in 2 pregnancy nutrition-based randomised trials across metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia. All women participating in the SNAPP trial received a comprehensive dietary, physical activity, and behavioural intervention, as part of the GRoW or OPTIMISE randomised trials. Women were subsequently randomised to either the "Lifestyle Advice Only Group," where women received the above intervention, or the "Lifestyle Advice plus Smartphone Application Group," where women were additionally provided access to the smartphone application. The primary outcome was healthy eating index (HEI) assessed by maternal food frequency questionnaire completed at trial entry, and 28 and 36 weeks' gestation. Analyses were performed using intention-to-treat principles, with statistical significance at p = .05. One hundred sixty-two women participated: 77 allocated to the Lifestyle Advice plus Smartphone Application Group and 85 to the Lifestyle Advice Only Group. Mean difference in HEI score at 28 weeks of pregnancy was 0.01 (CI [-2.29, 2.62]) and at 36 weeks of pregnancy -1.16 (CI [-4.60, 2.28]). There was no significant additional benefit from the provision of the smartphone application in improving HEI score (p = .452). Although all women improved dietary quality across pregnancy, use of the smartphone application was poor. Our findings do not support addition of the smartphone application. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Smartphone application for multi-phasic interventional trials in psychiatry: Technical design of a smart server.

PubMed

Zhang, Melvyn W B; Ho, Roger C M

2017-01-01

Smartphones and their accompanying applications are currently widely utilized in various healthcare interventions. Prior to the deployment of these tools for healthcare intervention, typically, proof of concept feasibility studies, as well as randomized trials are conducted to determine that these tools are efficacious prior to their actual implementation. In the field of psychiatry, most of the current interventions seek to compare smartphone based intervention against conventional care. There remains a paucity of research evaluating different forms of interventions using a single smartphone application. In the field of nutrition, there has been recent pioneering research demonstrating how a multi-phasic randomized controlled trial could be conducted using a single smartphone application. Despite the innovativeness of the previous smartphone conceptualization, there remains a paucity of technical information underlying the conceptualization that would support a multi-phasic interventional trial. It is thus the aim of the current technical note to share insights into an innovative server design that would enable the delivery of multi-phasic trials.

What Do Smokers Want in A Smartphone-Based Cessation Application?

PubMed

Oliver, Jason A; Hallyburton, Matthew B; Pacek, Lauren R; Mitchell, John T; Vilardaga, Roger; Fuemmeler, Bernard F; Joseph McClernon, F

2017-08-03

Fueled by rapid technological advances over the past decade, there is growing interest in the use of smartphones to aid in smoking cessation. Hundreds of applications have been developed for this purpose, but little is known about how these applications are accessed and used by smokers or what features smokers believe would be most useful. The present study sought to understand the prevalence of smartphone ownership and patterns of use among smokers as well as the perceived utility of various smartphone application features for smoking cessation that are currently in development or already available. Daily cigarette smokers (n = 224) reported on smartphone ownership, their patterns of smartphone usage, and perceived utility of features. Features were ranked according to perceived utility and differences in both perceived utility and general smartphone use patterns were examined as a function of demographic and smoking-related variables. Most smokers (80.4%) own a smartphone, but experience with smoking cessation applications is extremely rare (6.1%). Ownership and patterns of usage differed as a function of demographic and smoking-related variables. Overall, gain-framed features were rated as most useful, while loss-framed and interpersonal features were rated as least useful. Mobile health interventions have the potential to reach a large number of smokers but are currently underutilized. Additional effort is needed to ensure parity in treatment access. Gain-framed messages may be especially useful for engaging smokers, even if other features ultimately drive treatment effects. This study describes patterns of smartphone usage among smokers and identifies the smartphone application features smokers believe would be most useful during a quit attempt. Findings indicate which subgroups of smokers are most likely to be reached with mobile health interventions and suggests that inclusion of specific features may be helpful for engaging smokers in the smoking cessation process. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Development of Smartphone based Optical Device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Youngkee

Due to the economy of scale, smartphones are becoming more affordable while their computing powers are increasing dramatically every year. Here we propose a ubiquitous and portable instrument for analyte quantitation by utilizing the characteristics of typical smartphone imaging system and specific design of transducers for different applications. Three testbeds included in this work are: quantitative colorimetric analysis, ultra-low radiant flux detection, and portable spectrometer. As a proof-of-principle for each device, 3-D printed cradle and theoretical simulation with MATLAB have been implemented. First example utilizes the native CMOS camera with their respective RGB channel data and perform an analyte quantitation for typical lateral flow devices (LFD). Histogram analysis method has been employed to detect the analyte concentration and calibration results show good correlation between perceived color change and analyte concentration. The second example shows the possibility of using a conventional CMOS camera for pico Watt level photon flux detection. Since most of consumer grade CMOS cameras cannot detect this level of light intensity and their dark current are relatively higher, a new algorithm called NREA (Noise Reduction by Ensemble Averaging) algorithm was developed to effectively reduce the noise level and increase the SNR (signal to noise ratio). This technique is effective for bioanalytical assays that has lower flux intensity such as fluorescence and luminescence. As a proof-of-principle, we tested the device with Pseudomonas fluorescens M3A and achieved a limit of detection of high 10? CFU/ml. In addition to basic schematic of detection model, another experiment with a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) has been studied for more sensitive light detectability. Based on both the laser experiment and tw bioluminescent experiments, named Pseudomonas fluorescens M3A and NanoLuc, we found that the miniSM based device has a superior ability than the smartphone to detect the low light intensity. Finally, smartphone based spectrometers have been developed and experiments have been performed to demonstrate its availability. Smartphone spectrometers were designed with two kinds of spectrometer functions, absorbance and reflection spectrometer. Based on the diffraction theory, the experimental results were compared with simulation results and demonstrated the feasibility as a spectrometer. Peak locations were calibrated with diode lasers in three wavelengths (405 nm, 532 nm and 635 nm) and specific software application was developed to capture a spectrum. A Biuret test was done to test its feasibility as an absorbance spectrometer. To show the possibility as a reflection spectrometer, the real meat test was done using a standard experimental process of meat freshness analysis.

Mobile device geo-localization and object visualization in sensor networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lemaire, Simon; Bodensteiner, Christoph; Arens, Michael

2014-10-01

In this paper we present a method to visualize geo-referenced objects on modern smartphones using a multi- functional application design. The application applies different localization and visualization methods including the smartphone camera image. The presented application copes well with different scenarios. A generic application work flow and augmented reality visualization techniques are described. The feasibility of the approach is experimentally validated using an online desktop selection application in a network with a modern of-the-shelf smartphone. Applications are widespread and include for instance crisis and disaster management or military applications.

Validity of a Smartphone-Based Fall Detection Application on Different Phones Worn on a Belt or in a Trouser Pocket.

PubMed

Vermeulen, Joan; Willard, Sarah; Aguiar, Bruno; De Witte, Luc P

2015-01-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of a smartphone-based fall detection application when different smartphone models are worn on a belt or in a trouser pocket. Eight healthy adults aged between 18 and 24 years old simulated 10 different types of true falls, 5 different types of falls with recovery, and 11 daily activities, five consecutive times. Participants wore one smartphone in a pocket that was attached to their belt and another one in their trouser pocket. All smartphones were equipped with a built-in accelerometer and the fall detection application. Four participants tested the application on a Samsung S3 and four tested the application on a Samsung S3 mini. Sensitivity scores were .75 (Samsung S3 belt), .88 (Samsung S3 mini trouser pocket), and .90 (Samsung S3 mini belt/Samsung S3 trouser pocket). Specificity scores were .87 (Samsung S3 trouser pocket), .91 (Samsung S3 mini trouser pocket), .97 (Samsung S3 belt), and .99 (Samsung S3 mini belt). These results suggest that an application on a smartphone can generate valid fall alarms when worn on a belt or in a trouser pocket. However, sensitivity should be improved before implementation of the application in practice.

F30. SMARTPHONE APPLICATION “ROBIN”: FEASIBILITY, ENGAGEMENT AND SATISFACTION OF A SMARTPHONE APPLICATION APPROACH TO SUPPORT TREATMENT OF (ATTENUATED) PSYCHOTIC SYMPTOMS IN ADOLESCENTS

PubMed Central

Traber-Walker, Nina; Metzler, Sibylle; Gerstenberg, Miriam; Walitza, Susanne; Franscini, Maurizia

2018-01-01

Abstract Background There is increasing interest in using mobile technologies such as smartphones application in mental health care. First research results from the use of smartphone applications in the treatment of psychotic disorders are promising. Current analysis showed, that especially young people would be interested in smartphone applications within treatment settings. However, there is a lack of investigations in this population. There is also little known about mobile technologies in the work with attenuated psychotic symptoms. To address these gaps, we developed “Robin”, a specific smartphone application to support the therapy of adolescents with attenuated or full-blown psychotic symptoms. The smartphone application targets medication adherence, real-time symptom assessment and provides help coping with symptoms and stressful situations in daily life. Methods Based on existing literature and our clinical expertise within a specialized outpatient care for adolescents with (attenuated) psychotic symptoms, a first modular version of the app was developed and adapted after first pilot investigations with patients (N=7, Age 14–18) and therapists (N=10). Participants of the pilot investigation completed a questionnaire regarding usability and acceptance of the application. Furthermore, we investigated how the patients used the application in their daily life by analyzing the user data from the application. In September 2017, the development of the smartphone application has been finalized and we have started with a systematic clinical evaluation study for testing the efficiency of the app. The application is only used in combination with psychotherapy in our university hospital for child and adolescent psychiatry. Results The data from our pilot investigation showed, that “Robin” was accepted by clinicians and patients. All clinicians said they would like to use the application to enrich their therapeutic approaches. All patients in the pilot project used the application in their daily life. Especially modules with information about symptoms and coping strategies were frequently used. Since September 2017, first patients have been included to the systematic evaluation study. In Florence 2018, we will present first data from this study about feasibility, engagement and subjectively perceived benefit of the smartphone application. Discussion The first feedbacks from the pilot investigation were encouraging. The findings were used to improve and adapt the application. Since September 2017, the application is used in psychotherapy and an evaluation study has started. This is one of the first clinical trials to test the efficacy of a specific application developed for adolescents with psychotic and with attenuated psychotic symptoms.

"Is There An App For That?" Orthopaedic Patient Preferences For A Smartphone Application.

PubMed

Datillo, Jonathan R; Gittings, Daniel J; Sloan, Matthew; Hardaker, William M; Deasey, Matthew J; Sheth, Neil P

2017-08-16

Patients are seeking out medical information on the Internet and utilizing smartphone health applications ("apps"). Smartphone use has exponentially increased among orthopaedic surgeons and patients. Despite this increase, patients are rarely directed to specific apps by physicians. No study exists querying patient preferences for a patient-centered, orthopaedic smartphone application. The purpose of this study is to 1) determine Internet use patterns amongst orthopaedic patients; 2) ascertain access to and use of smartphones; and 3) elucidate what features orthopaedic patients find most important in a smartphone application. We surveyed patients in an orthopaedic practice in an urban academic center to assess demographics, access to and patterns of Internet and Smartphone use, and preferences for features in a smartphone app. A total of 310 surveys were completed. Eighty percent of patients reported Internet access, and 62% used the Internet for health information. Seventy-seven percent owned smartphones, 45% used them for health information, and 28% owned health apps. Only 11% were referred to an app by a physician. The highest ranked features were appointment reminders, ability to view test results, communication with physicians, and discharge instructions. General orthopaedic information and pictures or videos explaining surgery were the 2 lowest ranked features. Seventy-one percent of patients felt an app with some of the described features would improve their healthcare experiences, and 40% would pay for the app. The smartphone is an under-utilized tool to enhance patient-physician communication, increase satisfaction, and improve quality of care. Patients were enthusiastic about app features that are often included in patient health portals, but ranked orthopaedic educational features lowest. Further study is required to elucidate how best to use orthopaedic apps as physician-directed educational opportunities to promote patient satisfaction and quality of care.

Balancing the Need for Clinical Photography With Patient Privacy Issues: The Search for a Secure SmartPhone Application to Take and Store Clinical Photographs.

PubMed

Dumestre, Danielle O; Fraulin, Frankie O G

2017-11-01

Physicians are increasingly using smartphones to take clinical photographs. This study evaluates a smartphone application for clinical photography that prioritizes and facilitates patient security. Ethics approval was obtained to trial a smartphone clinical photography application, PicSafe Medi. Calgary plastic surgeons and residents used the application to obtain informed consent and photograph patients. Surveys gauging the application's usability, consent process, and photograph storage/sharing were then sent to surgeons and patients. Over a 6-month trial period, 15 plastic surgeons and residents used the application to photograph 86 patients. Over half of the patients (57%) completed the survey. The majority of patients (96%) were satisfied with the application's consent process, and all felt their photographs were secure. The majority (93%) of surgeons/residents completed the survey. The application was felt to overcome issues with current photography practices: inadequate consent and storage of photographs (100%), risk to patient confidentiality (92%), and unsecure photograph sharing (93%). Barriers to regular use of the application included need for cellphone service/Internet (54%), sanitary concerns due to the need for patients to sign directly on the phone (46%), inability to obtain proactive/retroactive consent (85%), and difficulty viewing photographs (80%). The majority of surgeons (85%) believe a smartphone application would be suitable for clinical patient photography, but due to its limitations, only 23% would use the trialed application. A smartphone clinical photography application addresses the patient confidentiality risks of current photography methods; however, limitations of the trialed application prevent its broad implementation.

Validity of a smartphone protractor to measure sagittal parameters in adult spinal deformity.

PubMed

Kunkle, William Aaron; Madden, Michael; Potts, Shannon; Fogelson, Jeremy; Hershman, Stuart

2017-10-01

Smartphones have become an integral tool in the daily life of health-care professionals (Franko 2011). Their ease of use and wide availability often make smartphones the first tool surgeons use to perform measurements. This technique has been validated for certain orthopedic pathologies (Shaw 2012; Quek 2014; Milanese 2014; Milani 2014), but never to assess sagittal parameters in adult spinal deformity (ASD). This study was designed to assess the validity, reproducibility, precision, and efficiency of using a smartphone protractor application to measure sagittal parameters commonly measured in ASD assessment and surgical planning. This study aimed to (1) determine the validity of smartphone protractor applications, (2) determine the intra- and interobserver reliability of smartphone protractor applications when used to measure sagittal parameters in ASD, (3) determine the efficiency of using a smartphone protractor application to measure sagittal parameters, and (4) elucidate whether a physician's level of experience impacts the reliability or validity of using a smartphone protractor application to measure sagittal parameters in ASD. An experimental validation study was carried out. Thirty standard 36″ standing lateral radiographs were examined. Three separate measurements were performed using a marker and protractor; then at a separate time point, three separate measurements were performed using a smartphone protractor application for all 30 radiographs. The first 10 radiographs were then re-measured two more times, for a total of three measurements from both the smartphone protractor and marker and protractor. The parameters included lumbar lordosis, pelvic incidence, and pelvic tilt. Three raters performed all measurements-a junior level orthopedic resident, a senior level orthopedic resident, and a fellowship-trained spinal deformity surgeon. All data, including the time to perform the measurements, were recorded, and statistical analysis was performed to determine intra- and interobserver reliability, as well as accuracy, efficiency, and precision. Statistical analysis using the intra- and interclass correlation coefficient was calculated using R (version 3.3.2, 2016) to determine the degree of intra- and interobserver reliability. High rates of intra- and interobserver reliability were observed between the junior resident, senior resident, and attending surgeon when using the smartphone protractor application as demonstrated by high inter- and intra-class correlation coefficients greater than 0.909 and 0.874 respectively. High rates of inter- and intraobserver reliability were also seen between the junior resident, senior resident, and attending surgeon when a marker and protractor were used as demonstrated by high inter- and intra-class correlation coefficients greater than 0.909 and 0.807 respectively. The lumbar lordosis, pelvic incidence, and pelvic tilt values were accurately measured by all three raters, with excellent inter- and intra-class correlation coefficient values. When the first 10 radiographs were re-measured at different time points, a high degree of precision was noted. Measurements performed using the smartphone application were consistently faster than using a marker and protractor-this difference reached statistical significance of p<.05. Adult spinal deformity radiographic parameters can be measured accurately, precisely, reliably, and more efficiently using a smartphone protractor application than with a standard protractor and wax pencil. A high degree of intra- and interobserver reliability was seen between the residents and attending surgeon, indicating measurements made with a smartphone protractor are unaffected by an observer's level of experience. As a result, smartphone protractors may be used when planning ASD surgery. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Use of Smartphones in Hospitals.

PubMed

Thomairy, Noora Al; Mummaneni, Mounica; Alsalamah, Sami; Moussa, Nicole; Coustasse, Alberto

2015-01-01

Mobile technology has begun to change the landscape of the medical profession, with more than two-thirds of physicians regularly using smartphones. Smartphones have allowed health care professionals and the general public to communicate more efficiently, collect data, and facilitate clinical decision making. The methodology for this study was a qualitative literature review following a systematic approach of smartphone use among physicians in hospitals. Fifty-one articles were selected for this study based on inclusion criteria. The findings were classified and described into 7 categories: use of smartphone in obstetrics, pediatrics, surgery, internal medicine, radiology, and dermatology, which were chosen based on the documented use of smartphone application in different health care practices. A last section of patient safety and issues with confidentiality is also described. This study suggests that smartphones have been playing an increasingly important role in health care. Medical professionals have become more dependent upon medical smartphone applications. However, concerns of patient safety and confidentiality will likely lead to increased oversight of mobile device use by regulatory agencies and accrediting bodies.

Cyber security and data collection approaches for smartphone sensor systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turner, Hamilton; White, Jules

2012-06-01

In recent years the ubiquity and resources provided by smartphone devices have encouraged scientists to explore using these devices as remote sensing nodes. In addition, the United States Department of Defense has stated a mission of increasing persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities or U.S. units. This paper presents a method of enabling large-scale, long-term smartphone-powered data collection. Key solutions discussed include the ability to directly allow domain experts to define and refine smartphone applications for data collection, technical advancements that allow rapid dissemination of a smartphone data collection application, and an algorithm for preserving the locational privacy of participating users.

Smartphone Technology and Apps: Rapidly Changing Health Promotion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kratzke, Cynthia; Cox, Carolyn

2012-01-01

Despite the increased availability of smartphones and health applications (apps), little is known about smartphone technology and apps for implementation in health promotion practice. Smartphones are mobile devices with capabilities for e-mail, text messaging, video viewing, and wireless Internet access. It is essential for health promotion…

Smartphone gaming and frequent use pattern associated with smartphone addiction

PubMed Central

Liu, Chun-Hao; Lin, Sheng-Hsuan; Pan, Yuan-Chien; Lin, Yu-Hsuan

2016-01-01

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors of smartphone addiction in high school students. A total of 880 adolescents were recruited from a vocational high school in Taiwan in January 2014 to complete a set of questionnaires, including the 10-item Smartphone Addiction Inventory, Chen Internet Addiction Scale, and a survey of content and patterns of personal smartphone use. Of those recruited, 689 students (646 male) aged 14 to 21 and who owned a smartphone completed the questionnaire. Multiple linear regression models were used to determine the variables associated with smartphone addiction. Smartphone gaming and frequent smartphone use were associated with smartphone addiction. Furthermore, both the smartphone gaming-predominant and gaming with multiple-applications groups showed a similar association with smartphone addiction. Gender, duration of owning a smartphone, and substance use were not associated with smartphone addiction. Our findings suggest that smartphone use patterns should be part of specific measures to prevent and intervene in cases of excessive smartphone use. PMID:27428191

Smartphone gaming and frequent use pattern associated with smartphone addiction.

PubMed

Liu, Chun-Hao; Lin, Sheng-Hsuan; Pan, Yuan-Chien; Lin, Yu-Hsuan

2016-07-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors of smartphone addiction in high school students.A total of 880 adolescents were recruited from a vocational high school in Taiwan in January 2014 to complete a set of questionnaires, including the 10-item Smartphone Addiction Inventory, Chen Internet Addiction Scale, and a survey of content and patterns of personal smartphone use. Of those recruited, 689 students (646 male) aged 14 to 21 and who owned a smartphone completed the questionnaire. Multiple linear regression models were used to determine the variables associated with smartphone addiction.Smartphone gaming and frequent smartphone use were associated with smartphone addiction. Furthermore, both the smartphone gaming-predominant and gaming with multiple-applications groups showed a similar association with smartphone addiction. Gender, duration of owning a smartphone, and substance use were not associated with smartphone addiction.Our findings suggest that smartphone use patterns should be part of specific measures to prevent and intervene in cases of excessive smartphone use.

Can Programming Frameworks Bring Smartphones into the Mainstream of Psychological Science?

PubMed

Piwek, Lukasz; Ellis, David A

2016-01-01

Smartphones continue to provide huge potential for psychological science and the advent of novel research frameworks brings new opportunities for researchers who have previously struggled to develop smartphone applications. However, despite this renewed promise, smartphones have failed to become a standard item within psychological research. Here we consider the key issues that continue to limit smartphone adoption within psychological science and how these barriers might be diminishing in light of ResearchKit and other recent methodological developments. We conclude that while these programming frameworks are certainly a step in the right direction it remains challenging to create usable research-orientated applications with current frameworks. Smartphones may only become an asset for psychology and social science as a whole when development software that is both easy to use and secure becomes freely available.

Predictors of students' self-reported adoption of a smartphone application for medical education in general practice.

PubMed

Sandholzer, Maximilian; Deutsch, Tobias; Frese, Thomas; Winter, Alfred

2015-05-21

Smartphones and related applications are increasingly gaining relevance in the healthcare domain. We previously assessed the demands and preferences of medical students towards an application accompanying them during a course on general practice. The current study aims to elucidate the factors associated with adoption of such a technology. Therefore we provided students with a prototype of an application specifically related to their studies in general practice. A total estimation among students participating in a general practice examination at the Leipzig Medical School was conducted in May 2014. Students were asked to answer a structured self-designed questionnaire. Univariable comparisons were made to identify significant differences between those students who reported to have used the application frequently and those who did not. Multivariable binary logistic regression was used to reveal independent predictors of frequent application usage. The response rate was 99.3 % (n = 305/307). The majority (59 %, n = 180/305) were female students. The mean age was 24.5 years and 79.9 % (n = 243/304) owned a smartphone or tablet computer. Regarding the usage of the provided application, 2.3 % (n = 7/303) did not use the app while 68.0 % (n = 206/303) replied to have used it more than five times. Frequent users significantly differed from non-frequent users with regard to being female rather than male, higher mobile device ownership, more frequent exchange about obtaining the course certificate, higher personal interest in new technologies, larger enjoyment of the technology, lower intention to not use smartphone applications in the future, better opinion towards smartphone applications for the profession of a doctor, higher perceived importance of medical applications on the job, higher compatibility of smartphone applications with personal work style, higher perceived relevance of university support and personal benefit of use. Multivariable analysis revealed a set of four variables independently predicting frequent usage: being female, a higher perceived benefit of the supplied application, a higher personal interest in new technologies, and a higher perceived impact of previous experiences on smartphone adoption (Pseudo-R(2)(Nagelkerke) = 0.245). Understanding medical students' adoption of smartphone applications used for educational purposes may provide useful information to guide the implementation process as well as the design of respective applications.

Diagnostic inaccuracy of smartphone applications for melanoma detection.

PubMed

Wolf, Joel A; Moreau, Jacqueline F; Akilov, Oleg; Patton, Timothy; English, Joseph C; Ho, Jonhan; Ferris, Laura K

2013-04-01

To measure the performance of smartphone applications that evaluate photographs of skin lesions and provide the user with feedback about the likelihood of malignancy. Case-control diagnostic accuracy study. Academic dermatology department. PARTICIPANTS AND MATERIALS: Digital clinical images of pigmented cutaneous lesions (60 melanoma and 128 benign control lesions) with a histologic diagnosis rendered by a board-certified dermatopathologist, obtained before biopsy from patients undergoing lesion removal as a part of routine care. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of 4 smartphone applications designed to aid nonclinician users in determining whether their skin lesion is benign or malignant. Sensitivity of the 4 tested applications ranged from 6.8% to 98.1%; specificity, 30.4% to 93.7%; positive predictive value, 33.3% to 42.1%; and negative predictive value, 65.4% to 97.0%. The highest sensitivity for melanoma diagnosis was observed for an application that sends the image directly to a board-certified dermatologist for analysis; the lowest, for applications that use automated algorithms to analyze images. The performance of smartphone applications in assessing melanoma risk is highly variable, and 3 of 4 smartphone applications incorrectly classified 30% or more of melanomas as unconcerning. Reliance on these applications, which are not subject to regulatory oversight, in lieu of medical consultation can delay the diagnosis of melanoma and harm users.

In Brief: Air pollution app

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Showstack, Randy

2010-10-01

A new smartphone application takes advantage of various technological capabilities and sensors to help users monitor air quality. Tapping into smartphone cameras, Global Positioning System (GPS) sensors, compasses, and accelerometers, computer scientists with the University of Southern California's (USC) Viterbi School of Engineering have developed a new application, provisionally entitled “Visibility.” Currently available for the Android telephone operating system, the application is available for free download at http://robotics.usc.edu/˜mobilesensing/Projects/AirVisibilityMonitoring. An iPhone application may be introduced soon. Smartphone users can take a picture of the sky and then compare it with models of sky luminance to estimate visibility. While conventional air pollution monitors are costly and thinly deployed in some areas, the smartphone application potentially could help fill in some blanks in existing air pollution maps, according to USC computer science professor Gaurav Sukhatme.

Implementation of a smartphone as a wireless gyroscope application for the quantification of reflex response.

PubMed

LeMoyne, Robert; Mastroianni, Timothy

2014-01-01

The patellar tendon reflex constitutes a fundamental aspect of the conventional neurological evaluation. Dysfunctional characteristics of the reflex response can augment the diagnostic acuity of a clinician for subsequent referral to more advanced medical resources. The capacity to quantify the reflex response while alleviating the growing strain on specialized medical resources is a topic of interest. The quantification of the tendon reflex response has been successfully demonstrated with considerable accuracy and consistency through using a potential energy impact pendulum attached to a reflex hammer for evoking the tendon reflex with a smartphone, such as an iPhone, application representing a wireless accelerometer platform to quantify reflex response. Another sensor integrated into the smartphone, such as an iPhone, is the gyroscope, which measures rate of angular rotation. A smartphone application enables wireless transmission through Internet connectivity of the gyroscope signal recording of the reflex response as an email attachment. The smartphone wireless gyroscope application demonstrates considerable accuracy and consistency for the quantification of the tendon reflex response.

The Psychometric Properties of the Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale (SABAS).

PubMed

Csibi, Sándor; Griffiths, Mark D; Cook, Brian; Demetrovics, Zsolt; Szabo, Attila

2018-01-01

The goal of the study was to validate the English version of the Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale (SABAS; Csibi et al. 2016), which is a short and easy-to-use tool for screening the risk of smartphone application-based addiction. Another aim was to identify the most frequently used smartphone applications and their perceived importance by the participants. Data were collected online from 240 English-speaking volunteers, aged 18 to 69 years. The instruments used were the SABAS, the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q), the Brief Sensation Seeking Scale (BSSS), the Deprivation Sensation Scale (DSS), and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Participants also ranked the importance of their most frequently used smartphone applications. The six items of the SABAS yielded one component, which accounted for 52.38% of the total variance. The internal reliability of the scale was good (Cronbach's alpha 0.81). NMP-Q was a significant predictor of SABAS, explaining 17.6% of the total variance. The regression analysis, with SABAS score as the dependent variable and NMP-Q, DSS, PHQ-9, and BSSS scores as predictors, indicated that approximately 47% of the variance in SABAS was accounted for by the predictors ( R 2  = 0.47). The English version of the SABAS appears to be a valid and reliable ultra-brief tool for a quick and easy assessment of smartphone application-based addiction symptoms.

Smartphone Ownership and Interest in Mobile Applications to Monitor Symptoms of Mental Health Conditions

PubMed Central

Friedman, Rohn; Keshavan, Matcheri

2014-01-01

Background Patient retrospective recollection is a mainstay of assessing symptoms in mental health and psychiatry. However, evidence suggests that these retrospective recollections may not be as accurate as data collection though the experience sampling method (ESM), which captures patient data in “real time” and “real life.” However, the difficulties in practical implementation of ESM data collection have limited its impact in psychiatry and mental health. Smartphones with the capability to run mobile applications may offer a novel method of collecting ESM data that may represent a practical and feasible tool for mental health and psychiatry. Objective This paper aims to provide data on psychiatric patients’ prevalence of smartphone ownership, patterns of use, and interest in utilizing mobile applications to monitor their mental health conditions. Methods One hundred psychiatric outpatients at a large urban teaching hospital completed a paper-and-pencil survey regarding smartphone ownership, use, and interest in utilizing mobile applications to monitor their mental health condition. Results Ninety-seven percent of patients reported owning a phone and 72% reported that their phone was a smartphone. Patients in all age groups indicated greater than 50% interest in using a mobile application on a daily basis to monitor their mental health condition. Conclusions Smartphone and mobile applications represent a practical opportunity to explore new modalities of monitoring, treatment, and research of psychiatric and mental health conditions. PMID:25098314

Smartphone ownership and interest in mobile applications to monitor symptoms of mental health conditions.

PubMed

Torous, John; Friedman, Rohn; Keshavan, Matcheri

2014-01-21

Patient retrospective recollection is a mainstay of assessing symptoms in mental health and psychiatry. However, evidence suggests that these retrospective recollections may not be as accurate as data collection though the experience sampling method (ESM), which captures patient data in "real time" and "real life." However, the difficulties in practical implementation of ESM data collection have limited its impact in psychiatry and mental health. Smartphones with the capability to run mobile applications may offer a novel method of collecting ESM data that may represent a practical and feasible tool for mental health and psychiatry. This paper aims to provide data on psychiatric patients' prevalence of smartphone ownership, patterns of use, and interest in utilizing mobile applications to monitor their mental health conditions. One hundred psychiatric outpatients at a large urban teaching hospital completed a paper-and-pencil survey regarding smartphone ownership, use, and interest in utilizing mobile applications to monitor their mental health condition. Ninety-seven percent of patients reported owning a phone and 72% reported that their phone was a smartphone. Patients in all age groups indicated greater than 50% interest in using a mobile application on a daily basis to monitor their mental health condition. Smartphone and mobile applications represent a practical opportunity to explore new modalities of monitoring, treatment, and research of psychiatric and mental health conditions.

Smartphone applications for seizure management.

PubMed

Pandher, Puneet Singh; Bhullar, Karamdeep Kaur

2016-06-01

Technological advancements continue to provide innovative ways of enhancing patient care in medicine. In particular, the growing popularity of smartphone technology has seen the recent emergence of a myriad of healthcare applications (or apps) that promise to help shape the way in which health information is delivered to people worldwide. While limited research already exists on a range of such apps, our study is the first to examine the salient features of smartphone applications as they apply to the area of seizure management. For the purposes of this review, we conducted a search of the official online application stores of the five major smartphone platforms: iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and Nokia-Symbian. Apps were included if they reported to contain some information or tools relating to seizure management and excluded if they were aimed exclusively at health professionals. A total of 28 applications met these criteria. Overall, we found an increasing number of epilepsy apps available on the smartphone market, but with only a minority offering comprehensive educational information alongside tools such as seizure diaries, medication tracking and/or video recording. © The Author(s) 2014.

Can Programming Frameworks Bring Smartphones into the Mainstream of Psychological Science?

PubMed Central

Piwek, Lukasz; Ellis, David A.

2016-01-01

Smartphones continue to provide huge potential for psychological science and the advent of novel research frameworks brings new opportunities for researchers who have previously struggled to develop smartphone applications. However, despite this renewed promise, smartphones have failed to become a standard item within psychological research. Here we consider the key issues that continue to limit smartphone adoption within psychological science and how these barriers might be diminishing in light of ResearchKit and other recent methodological developments. We conclude that while these programming frameworks are certainly a step in the right direction it remains challenging to create usable research-orientated applications with current frameworks. Smartphones may only become an asset for psychology and social science as a whole when development software that is both easy to use and secure becomes freely available. PMID:27602010

Validation and Reliability of a Smartphone Application for the International Prostate Symptom Score Questionnaire: A Randomized Repeated Measures Crossover Study

PubMed Central

Shim, Sung Ryul; Sun, Hwa Yeon; Ko, Young Myoung; Chun, Dong-Il; Yang, Won Jae

2014-01-01

Background Smartphone-based assessment may be a useful diagnostic and monitoring tool for patients. There have been many attempts to create a smartphone diagnostic tool for clinical use in various medical fields but few have demonstrated scientific validity. Objective The purpose of this study was to develop a smartphone application of the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and to demonstrate its validity and reliability. Methods From June 2012 to May 2013, a total of 1581 male participants (≥40 years old), with or without lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), visited our urology clinic via the health improvement center at Soonchunhyang University Hospital (Republic of Korea) and were enrolled in this study. A randomized repeated measures crossover design was employed using a smartphone application of the IPSS and the conventional paper form of the IPSS. Paired t test under a hypothesis of non-inferior trial was conducted. For the reliability test, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was measured. Results The total score of the IPSS (P=.289) and each item of the IPSS (P=.157-1.000) showed no differences between the paper version and the smartphone version of the IPSS. The mild, moderate, and severe LUTS groups showed no differences between the two versions of the IPSS. A significant correlation was noted in the total group (ICC=.935, P<.001). The mild, moderate, and severe LUTS groups also showed significant correlations (ICC=.616, .549, and .548 respectively, all P<.001).There was selection bias in this study, as only participants who had smartphones could participate. Conclusions The validity and reliability of the smartphone application version were comparable to the conventional paper version of the IPSS. The smartphone application of the IPSS could be an effective method for measuring lower urinary tract symptoms. PMID:24513507

User clustering in smartphone applications.

PubMed

Schaefers, Klaus; Ribeiro, David

2012-01-01

In the context of mobile health applications usability is a crucial factor to achieve user acceptance. The successful user interface (UI) design requires a deep understanding of the needs and requirements of the targeted audience. This paper explores the application of the K-Means algorithm on smartphone usage data in order to offer Human Computer Interaction (HCI) specialists a better insight into their user group. Two different feature space representations are introduced and used to identify persona like stereotypes in a real world data set, which was obtained from a public available smartphone application.

DNAApp: a mobile application for sequencing data analysis

PubMed Central

Nguyen, Phi-Vu; Verma, Chandra Shekhar; Gan, Samuel Ken-En

2014-01-01

Summary: There have been numerous applications developed for decoding and visualization of ab1 DNA sequencing files for Windows and MAC platforms, yet none exists for the increasingly popular smartphone operating systems. The ability to decode sequencing files cannot easily be carried out using browser accessed Web tools. To overcome this hurdle, we have developed a new native app called DNAApp that can decode and display ab1 sequencing file on Android and iOS. In addition to in-built analysis tools such as reverse complementation, protein translation and searching for specific sequences, we have incorporated convenient functions that would facilitate the harnessing of online Web tools for a full range of analysis. Given the high usage of Android/iOS tablets and smartphones, such bioinformatics apps would raise productivity and facilitate the high demand for analyzing sequencing data in biomedical research. Availability and implementation: The Android version of DNAApp is available in Google Play Store as ‘DNAApp’, and the iOS version is available in the App Store. More details on the app can be found at www.facebook.com/APDLab; www.bii.a-star.edu.sg/research/trd/apd.php The DNAApp user guide is available at http://tinyurl.com/DNAAppuser, and a video tutorial is available on Google Play Store and App Store, as well as on the Facebook page. Contact: samuelg@bii.a-star.edu.sg PMID:25095882

DNAApp: a mobile application for sequencing data analysis.

PubMed

Nguyen, Phi-Vu; Verma, Chandra Shekhar; Gan, Samuel Ken-En

2014-11-15

There have been numerous applications developed for decoding and visualization of ab1 DNA sequencing files for Windows and MAC platforms, yet none exists for the increasingly popular smartphone operating systems. The ability to decode sequencing files cannot easily be carried out using browser accessed Web tools. To overcome this hurdle, we have developed a new native app called DNAApp that can decode and display ab1 sequencing file on Android and iOS. In addition to in-built analysis tools such as reverse complementation, protein translation and searching for specific sequences, we have incorporated convenient functions that would facilitate the harnessing of online Web tools for a full range of analysis. Given the high usage of Android/iOS tablets and smartphones, such bioinformatics apps would raise productivity and facilitate the high demand for analyzing sequencing data in biomedical research. The Android version of DNAApp is available in Google Play Store as 'DNAApp', and the iOS version is available in the App Store. More details on the app can be found at www.facebook.com/APDLab; www.bii.a-star.edu.sg/research/trd/apd.php The DNAApp user guide is available at http://tinyurl.com/DNAAppuser, and a video tutorial is available on Google Play Store and App Store, as well as on the Facebook page. samuelg@bii.a-star.edu.sg. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press.

Learning with Smartphones: Students' Lived Experience of Using Smartphones

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chan, Nee Nee; Walker-Gleaves, Alan; Remedios, Richard

2013-01-01

With its wide-ranging applications and multiple features, the smartphone is propelling a new way of learning "on the fly". Mobile learning is more than simply learning with certain types of digital technologies: through everyday practices of using the smartphone, learning can take place in formal and informal settings and in the boundary…

Multi-microphone adaptive array augmented with visual cueing.

PubMed

Gibson, Paul L; Hedin, Dan S; Davies-Venn, Evelyn E; Nelson, Peggy; Kramer, Kevin

2012-01-01

We present the development of an audiovisual array that enables hearing aid users to converse with multiple speakers in reverberant environments with significant speech babble noise where their hearing aids do not function well. The system concept consists of a smartphone, a smartphone accessory, and a smartphone software application. The smartphone accessory concept is a multi-microphone audiovisual array in a form factor that allows attachment to the back of the smartphone. The accessory will also contain a lower power radio by which it can transmit audio signals to compatible hearing aids. The smartphone software application concept will use the smartphone's built in camera to acquire images and perform real-time face detection using the built-in face detection support of the smartphone. The audiovisual beamforming algorithm uses the location of talking targets to improve the signal to noise ratio and consequently improve the user's speech intelligibility. Since the proposed array system leverages a handheld consumer electronic device, it will be portable and low cost. A PC based experimental system was developed to demonstrate the feasibility of an audiovisual multi-microphone array and these results are presented.

An innovative smartphone-based otorhinoendoscope and its application in mobile health and teleotolaryngology.

PubMed

Wu, Cheng-Jung; Wu, Sheng-Yu; Chen, Po-Chun; Lin, Yaoh-Shiang

2014-03-03

The traditional otorhinoendoscope is widely used in the diagnosis of a variety of ear and nose diseases, but only one doctor can use it at a time. It is also very difficult to share observations from one doctor with another doctor. With advances in electronic health technology, the extended potential application of smartphones to support medical practice or mobile health has grown steadily. The first phase of the study discussed how smartphones may be used for otorhinoscopic imaging and image management via an innovative adaptor. The second phase of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic capability of the smartphone-based otorhinoendoscope, as compared to the traditional otorhinoendoscope, and its application in mobile health and teleotolaryngology. We designed a unique adaptor to connect the otorhinoendoscope and smartphone in order to perform smartphone-based otorhinoendoscopy. The main aim was to transform the smartphone into an otorhinoendoscope. We devised a method that would allow us to use the smartphone's camera to capture otorhinoscopic images. Using a freely available Web-based real-time communication application platform and the 3G (or WIFI) network, the smartphone-based otorhinoendoscope could synchronize the smartphone-based otorhinoscopic image with smartphones, tablet PCs, computer notebooks, or personal computers. We investigated the feasibility of telemedicine using a smartphone, tablet PC, and computer notebook. Six types of clinical otorhinoscopic images were acquired via the smartphone-based otorhinoendoscope from six patients, which were examined in this study. Three teleconsultants (doctors A, B, and C) reviewed the six types of clinical otorhinoscopic images and made a telediagnosis. When compared to the face-to-face diagnosis, which was made in-person via a traditional otorhinoendoscope, the three teleconsultants obtained scores of a correct primary telediagnosis 83% (5/6), 100% (6/6), and 100% (6/6) of the time, respectively. When the clinical data were provided, the three teleconsultants obtained a correct secondary telediagnosis score of 100% (6/6), 100% (6/6), and 100% (6/6) of the time, respectively. The use of previously available technologies in the absence of any additional expensive devices could significantly increase the quality of diagnostics while lowering extraneous costs. Furthermore, this could also increase the connectivity between most isolated family doctors and remote referral centers.

Smartphone, the New Learning Aid amongst Medical Students

PubMed Central

Khismatrao, Deepak S.; Gavali, Yogesh V; Patil, K.B.

2017-01-01

Introduction The use of smartphone is increasing day by day for personal as well as professional purpose. They are becoming a more suitable tool for advancing education in developing countries. Mobile access to information and many applications are successfully harnessed in health care. Smartphones are also becoming popular as an effective educational tool. Aim The present study was conducted to evaluate the use of smartphones as an educational tool amongst the medical students. The study also aimed at identifying the common medical application used by the students. Materials and Methods It was an observational cross-sectional study carried out amongst medical students of private medical institute in India. A validated 16 point, structured, open-ended, questionnaire regarding ownership and use of smart phones was self-administered to 446 medical students. Data were analysed using SPSS and open ended questions were analysed by summative content analysis. Results Among the study population, 96% owned a smartphone -Android based 72.4%, i phone 13.0%, Windows based Nokia phones 7% and Blackberry 3.6%. Common medical applications used by the students were Anatomy and Medical Dictionary in First MBBS; Medical Dictionary, Medscape and Google/Wikipedia in Second MBBS; and Medscape, Google/Wikipedia and Prognosis/Diagnosis in Third MBBS. More than 90% students, reported to have technological skills to use smartphones, for medical education, communication and instant access during bedside teaching. Advertently, 37.2% students felt if smartphones are used for clinical purposes, they will need to spend less time with patients. Almost 79.4% felt that smartphones should be introduced in MBBS course. Conclusion Smartphone use amongst medical students as learning aid for various medical applications is rapidly advancing. But it will be worthwhile to study whether use of smartphones has any impact on the grades of the students before introducing them in medical schools. PMID:28658804

Suitability of Smartphone Inertial Sensors for Real-Time Biofeedback Applications.

PubMed

Kos, Anton; Tomažič, Sašo; Umek, Anton

2016-02-27

This article studies the suitability of smartphones with built-in inertial sensors for biofeedback applications. Biofeedback systems use various sensors to measure body functions and parameters. These sensor data are analyzed, and the results are communicated back to the user, who then tries to act on the feedback signals. Smartphone inertial sensors can be used to capture body movements in biomechanical biofeedback systems. These sensors exhibit various inaccuracies that induce significant angular and positional errors. We studied deterministic and random errors of smartphone accelerometers and gyroscopes, primarily focusing on their biases. Based on extensive measurements, we determined accelerometer and gyroscope noise models and bias variation ranges. Then, we compiled a table of predicted positional and angular errors under various biofeedback system operation conditions. We suggest several bias compensation options that are suitable for various examples of use in real-time biofeedback applications. Measurements within the developed experimental biofeedback application show that under certain conditions, even uncompensated sensors can be used for real-time biofeedback. For general use, especially for more demanding biofeedback applications, sensor biases should be compensated. We are convinced that real-time biofeedback systems based on smartphone inertial sensors are applicable to many similar examples in sports, healthcare, and other areas.

Suitability of Smartphone Inertial Sensors for Real-Time Biofeedback Applications

PubMed Central

Kos, Anton; Tomažič, Sašo; Umek, Anton

2016-01-01

This article studies the suitability of smartphones with built-in inertial sensors for biofeedback applications. Biofeedback systems use various sensors to measure body functions and parameters. These sensor data are analyzed, and the results are communicated back to the user, who then tries to act on the feedback signals. Smartphone inertial sensors can be used to capture body movements in biomechanical biofeedback systems. These sensors exhibit various inaccuracies that induce significant angular and positional errors. We studied deterministic and random errors of smartphone accelerometers and gyroscopes, primarily focusing on their biases. Based on extensive measurements, we determined accelerometer and gyroscope noise models and bias variation ranges. Then, we compiled a table of predicted positional and angular errors under various biofeedback system operation conditions. We suggest several bias compensation options that are suitable for various examples of use in real-time biofeedback applications. Measurements within the developed experimental biofeedback application show that under certain conditions, even uncompensated sensors can be used for real-time biofeedback. For general use, especially for more demanding biofeedback applications, sensor biases should be compensated. We are convinced that real-time biofeedback systems based on smartphone inertial sensors are applicable to many similar examples in sports, healthcare, and other areas. PMID:26927125

"Mediman" - the smartphone as a learning platform?

PubMed

Boeder, Niklas

2013-01-01

Mobile devices with a connection to the internet - smartphones - are seen all over the place since the popular introduction of the Apple iPhone. Similar products existed but no company managed to combine simplicity and functionality so seamlesly. Their market share increases constantly and web sites get optimised for the small display sizes (often referred to as "responsive webdesign") otherwise the usability lacks. Students seem to like smartphones aswell and a good question is if and to what extend those devices can play a role in e-learning. "Mediman", an adaptation of the common game Hangman has been developed for smartphones. Test users asked to complete an online questionnaire. So far, only few e-learning applications for smartphones seem to exist. This is reflected in the low usage frequency. Especially the fact that most of the test users wear a smartphone with them all the time makes it an ideal learning plattform. Short learning sessions were rated more important than continuous text. The majority of the 11 test users rated Mediman as well developed. The foremost question whether a smartphone e-learning application is feasible must be answered positive - acceptance in the test user group was shown. E-learning applications on smartphones will be an important topic in the future as market shares increase constantly. Further studies are required due to the small number of partitipants in our survey.

The smartphone in medicine: a review of current and potential use among physicians and students.

PubMed

Ozdalga, Errol; Ozdalga, Ark; Ahuja, Neera

2012-09-27

Advancements in technology have always had major impacts in medicine. The smartphone is one of the most ubiquitous and dynamic trends in communication, in which one's mobile phone can also be used for communicating via email, performing Internet searches, and using specific applications. The smartphone is one of the fastest growing sectors in the technology industry, and its impact in medicine has already been significant. To provide a comprehensive and up-to-date summary of the role of the smartphone in medicine by highlighting the ways in which it can enhance continuing medical education, patient care, and communication. We also examine the evidence base for this technology. We conducted a review of all published uses of the smartphone that could be applicable to the field of medicine and medical education with the exclusion of only surgical-related uses. In the 60 studies that were identified, we found many uses for the smartphone in medicine; however, we also found that very few high-quality studies exist to help us understand how best to use this technology. While the smartphone's role in medicine and education appears promising and exciting, more high-quality studies are needed to better understand the role it will have in this field. We recommend popular smartphone applications for physicians that are lacking in evidence and discuss future studies to support their use.

Evaluation of a smartphone application for self-care performance of patients with chronic hepatitis B: A randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Jeon, Jae Hee

2016-11-01

To verify the usefulness of a smartphone application (App) for facilitating self-care in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). CHB is a global health problem, and patients with CHB need to routinely perform self-care. Health-related smartphone apps could help users self-manage their disease. Fifty-three CHB patients were assessed in this randomized controlled before-and-after experimental study. The patients were randomly and equally assigned to groups that did (n=26) or did not (n=27) use the smartphone app for 12weeks. The experimental and control groups were analyzed for differences in disease knowledge, self-efficacy, and self-care before and after use of the smartphone app. After intervention, patients who used the app displayed significantly increased disease knowledge compared with the control group (p=.015). Self-efficacy and self-care also significantly increased in the experimental group (p=0.006 and 0.001, respectively). The smartphone app can be useful for increasing self-care in CHB patients. App: application, CHB: chronic hepatitis B, CVI: content validity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tinnitus therapy using tailor-made notched music delivered via a smartphone application and Ginko combined treatment: A pilot study.

PubMed

Kim, So Young; Chang, Mun Young; Hong, Min; Yoo, Sun-Gil; Oh, Dongik; Park, Moo Kyun

2017-10-01

Notched music therapy has been suggested to be effective for relieving tinnitus. We have developed a smartphone application using tailor-made notched music for tinnitus patients. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of this smartphone application on reducing tinnitus. In addition, we investigated the predictive factors for tinnitus treatment outcome using this smartphone application. A total of 26 patients who were chronically distressed by tinnitus with a ≥18 Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) score were recruited from March 2013 to March 2015 (National Clinical Trial (NCT) Identifier Number 01663467). Patients were instructed to listen to tailor-made notched music through our smartphone application for 30-60min per day and were prescribed Ginkgo biloba for 3 months. Treatment outcome was evaluated using the THI, a visual analogue scale that measures the effects of tinnitus in terms of loudness, noticeable time, annoyance, and disruption of daily life. Demographic data, including age, sex, duration of tinnitus, and pre-treatment scores on questionnaires such as the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (TAI), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores were compared between the effective and non-effective groups according to the differences between their pre- and post-treatment THI scores. Smartphone application-delivered notched music therapy and Ginko combined treatment improved the THI score from 33.9±18.9 to 23.1±15.2; the effect was particularly marked for the emotional score of the THI. Improvement in the THI score was positively correlated with the initial THI score (P=0.001, adjusted estimated value=0.49, 95% confidence interval=0.25-0.73). Chronic tinnitus patients who underwent smartphone application-delivered notched music therapy and Ginko combined treatment showed improved THI scores, particularly the emotional score of the THI. A smartphone application-delivered therapy and Ginko combined treatment may be more effective in tinnitus patients who have had a higher initial THI. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Validity of the Elite HRV Smartphone Application for Examining Heart Rate Variability in a Field-Based Setting.

PubMed

Perrotta, Andrew S; Jeklin, Andrew T; Hives, Ben A; Meanwell, Leah E; Warburton, Darren E R

2017-08-01

Perrotta, AS, Jeklin, AT, Hives, BA, Meanwell, LE, and Warburton, DER. Validity of the elite HRV smartphone application for examining heart rate variability in a field-based setting. J Strength Cond Res 31(8): 2296-2302, 2017-The introduction of smartphone applications has allowed athletes and practitioners to record and store R-R intervals on smartphones for immediate heart rate variability (HRV) analysis. This user-friendly option should be validated in the effort to provide practitioners confidence when monitoring their athletes before implementing such equipment. The objective of this investigation was to examine the relationship and validity between a vagal-related HRV index, rMSSD, when derived from a smartphone application accessible with most operating systems against a frequently used computer software program, Kubios HRV 2.2. R-R intervals were recorded immediately upon awakening over 14 consecutive days using the Elite HRV smartphone application. R-R recordings were then exported into Kubios HRV 2.2 for analysis. The relationship and levels of agreement between rMSSDln derived from Elite HRV and Kubios HRV 2.2 was examined using a Pearson product-moment correlation and a Bland-Altman Plot. An extremely large relationship was identified (r = 0.92; p < 0.0001; confidence interval [CI] 95% = 0.90-0.93). A total of 6.4% of the residuals fell outside the 1.96 ± SD (CI 95% = -12.0 to 7.0%) limits of agreement. A negative bias was observed (mean: -2.7%; CI 95% = -3.10 to -2.30%), whose CI 95% failed to fall within the line of equality. Our observations demonstrated differences between the two sources of HRV analysis. However, further research is warranted, as this smartphone HRV application may offer a reliable platform when assessing parasympathetic modulation.

Comparison of chest compression quality between the modified chest compression method with the use of smartphone application and the standardized traditional chest compression method during CPR.

PubMed

Park, Sang-Sub

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study is to grasp difference in quality of chest compression accuracy between the modified chest compression method with the use of smartphone application and the standardized traditional chest compression method. Participants were progressed 64 people except 6 absentees among 70 people who agreed to participation with completing the CPR curriculum. In the classification of group in participants, the modified chest compression method was called as smartphone group (33 people). The standardized chest compression method was called as traditional group (31 people). The common equipments in both groups were used Manikin for practice and Manikin for evaluation. In the meantime, the smartphone group for application was utilized Android and iOS Operating System (OS) of 2 smartphone products (G, i). The measurement period was conducted from September 25th to 26th, 2012. Data analysis was used SPSS WIN 12.0 program. As a result of research, the proper compression depth (mm) was shown the proper compression depth (p< 0.01) in traditional group (53.77 mm) compared to smartphone group (48.35 mm). Even the proper chest compression (%) was formed suitably (p< 0.05) in traditional group (73.96%) more than smartphone group (60.51%). As for the awareness of chest compression accuracy, the traditional group (3.83 points) had the higher awareness of chest compression accuracy (p< 0.001) than the smartphone group (2.32 points). In the questionnaire that was additionally carried out 1 question only in smartphone group, the modified chest compression method with the use of smartphone had the high negative reason in rescuer for occurrence of hand back pain (48.5%) and unstable posture (21.2%).

Analysis of the Information Quality of Bariatric Surgery Smartphone Applications Using the Silberg Scale.

PubMed

Zhang, Melvyn W B; Ho, Roger C M; Hawa, Raed; Sockalingam, Sanjeev

2016-01-01

There is a paucity of literature that has evaluated the information quality of the current bariatric and obesity applications. Our objective was to evaluate the quality of currently available smartphone applications for bariatric-patient care using the Silberg scale. The two most widely used smartphone application online stores were searched in June 2014 and a total of 39 applications were evaluated. The average Silberg score of the 39 applications was 4.0 ± 1.76. The current gaps of information quality include the lack of provision of appropriate references, full disclosure of sponsorship, and accurate disclosure whether the application has been modified in the past month.

Behavioral activation-based guided self-help treatment administered through a smartphone application: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background The need for cost-effective interventions for people suffering from major depressive disorders is essential. Behavioral activation is an intervention that can largely benefit from the use of new mobile technologies (for example smartphones). Therefore, developing smartphone-based behavioral activation interventions might be a way to develop cost-effective treatments for people suffering from major depressive disorders. The aim of this study will be to test the effects of a smartphone-delivered behavioral activation treatment. Methods The study will be a randomized controlled trial with a sample size of 120 participants, with 60 patients in each group. The treatment group includes an 8-week smartphone-based behavioral activation intervention, with minimal therapist contact. The smartphone-based intervention consists of a web-based psychoeducation, and a smartphone application. There is also a back-end system where the therapist can see reports from the patients or activities being reported. In the attention control group, we will include brief online education and then recommend use of a smartphone application that is not directly aimed at depression (for example, ‘Effective meditation’). The duration of the control condition will also be 8 weeks. For ethical reasons we will give the participants in the control group access to the behavioral activation treatment following the 8-week treatment period. Discussions We believe that this trial has at least three important implications. First, we believe that smartphones can be integrated even further into society and therefore may serve an important role in health care. Second, while behavioral activation is a psychological treatment approach for which there is empirical support, the use of a smartphone application could serve as the therapist’s prolonged arm into the daily life of the patient. Third, as we have been doing trials on guided Internet treatment for more than 10 years it is now time to move to the next generation of information technology - smartphones - which are not only relevant for Swedish conditions but also for developing countries in the world which are increasingly empowered by mobile phones with Internet connection. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01463020 PMID:22607302

Smartphones in orthopaedics.

PubMed

Al-Hadithy, Nawfal; Gikas, Panagiotis D; Al-Nammari, Shafic Said

2012-08-01

With the introduction of the European Working Time Directive, surgical trainees are facing limited training opportunities and doctors are required to maximise their training opportunities. Smartphone sales have been rapidly increasing over the last five years and can be used as a training tool for the orthopaedic trainee and surgeon. Common uses include applications (AO, eLogbook and PubMed), Ebooks, online Logbooks, Guidelines and surgical techniques. In addition, smartphones can be used to immediately complete work-based assessments, in the absence of computers, hopefully increasing completion rates and reliability. Some journals now provide podcasts and video tutorials which may be accessed on smartphones, which is useful for higher examinations. Smartphones can also be used in the clinical setting to take photographs of wounds. Smartphones are enjoying increased uptake and application in the workplace and we review their use for orthopaedic surgeons and trainees to allow them to make the most out of their training opportunities.

MyShake - Smartphone seismic network powered by citizen scientists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kong, Q.; Allen, R. M.; Schreier, L.; Strauss, J. A.

2017-12-01

MyShake is a global smartphone seismic network that harnesses the power of crowdsourcing. It is driven by the citizen scientists that run MyShake on their personal smartphones. It has two components: an android application running on the smartphones to detect earthquake-like motion, and a network detection algorithm to aggregate results from multiple smartphones to confirm when an earthquake occurs. The MyShake application was released to the public on Feb 12th 2016. Within the first year, more than 250,000 people downloaded MyShake app around the world. There are more than 500 earthquakes recorded by the smartphones in this period, including events in Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Morocco, Greece, Nepal, New Zealand, Taiwan, Japan, and across North America. Currently, we are working on earthquake early warning with MyShake network and the shaking data provided by MyShake is a unique dataset that can be used for the research community.

User Authentication in Smartphones for Telehealth

PubMed Central

SMITH, KATHERINE A.; ZHOU, LEMING; WATZLAF, VALERIE J. M.

2017-01-01

Many functions previously conducted on desktop computers are now performed on smartphones. Smartphones provide convenience, portability, and connectivity. When smartphones are used in the conduct of telehealth, sensitive data is invariably accessed, rendering the devices in need of user authentication to ensure data protection. User authentication of smartphones can help mitigate potential Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) breaches and keep sensitive patient information protected, while also facilitating the convenience of smartphones within everyday life and healthcare. This paper presents and examines several types of authentication methods available to smartphone users to help ensure security of sensitive data from attackers. The applications of these authentication methods in telehealth are discussed. PMID:29238444

User Authentication in Smartphones for Telehealth.

PubMed

Smith, Katherine A; Zhou, Leming; Watzlaf, Valerie J M

2017-01-01

Many functions previously conducted on desktop computers are now performed on smartphones. Smartphones provide convenience, portability, and connectivity. When smartphones are used in the conduct of telehealth, sensitive data is invariably accessed, rendering the devices in need of user authentication to ensure data protection. User authentication of smartphones can help mitigate potential Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) breaches and keep sensitive patient information protected, while also facilitating the convenience of smartphones within everyday life and healthcare. This paper presents and examines several types of authentication methods available to smartphone users to help ensure security of sensitive data from attackers. The applications of these authentication methods in telehealth are discussed.

Photography by Cameras Integrated in Smartphones as a Tool for Analytical Chemistry Represented by an Butyrylcholinesterase Activity Assay

PubMed Central

Pohanka, Miroslav

2015-01-01

Smartphones are popular devices frequently equipped with sensitive sensors and great computational ability. Despite the widespread availability of smartphones, practical uses in analytical chemistry are limited, though some papers have proposed promising applications. In the present paper, a smartphone is used as a tool for the determination of cholinesterasemia i.e., the determination of a biochemical marker butyrylcholinesterase (BChE). The work should demonstrate suitability of a smartphone-integrated camera for analytical purposes. Paper strips soaked with indoxylacetate were used for the determination of BChE activity, while the standard Ellman’s assay was used as a reference measurement. In the smartphone-based assay, BChE converted indoxylacetate to indigo blue and coloration was photographed using the phone’s integrated camera. A RGB color model was analyzed and color values for the individual color channels were determined. The assay was verified using plasma samples and samples containing pure BChE, and validated using Ellmans’s assay. The smartphone assay was proved to be reliable and applicable for routine diagnoses where BChE serves as a marker (liver function tests; some poisonings, etc.). It can be concluded that the assay is expected to be of practical applicability because of the results’ relevance. PMID:26110404

Photography by Cameras Integrated in Smartphones as a Tool for Analytical Chemistry Represented by an Butyrylcholinesterase Activity Assay.

PubMed

Pohanka, Miroslav

2015-06-11

Smartphones are popular devices frequently equipped with sensitive sensors and great computational ability. Despite the widespread availability of smartphones, practical uses in analytical chemistry are limited, though some papers have proposed promising applications. In the present paper, a smartphone is used as a tool for the determination of cholinesterasemia i.e., the determination of a biochemical marker butyrylcholinesterase (BChE). The work should demonstrate suitability of a smartphone-integrated camera for analytical purposes. Paper strips soaked with indoxylacetate were used for the determination of BChE activity, while the standard Ellman's assay was used as a reference measurement. In the smartphone-based assay, BChE converted indoxylacetate to indigo blue and coloration was photographed using the phone's integrated camera. A RGB color model was analyzed and color values for the individual color channels were determined. The assay was verified using plasma samples and samples containing pure BChE, and validated using Ellmans's assay. The smartphone assay was proved to be reliable and applicable for routine diagnoses where BChE serves as a marker (liver function tests; some poisonings, etc.). It can be concluded that the assay is expected to be of practical applicability because of the results' relevance.

An android application for crime analysis in San Diego

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonchikara, Likhita

Over the past few years, smartphone adoption has increased worldwide. In this era of smartphones, one of the easiest ways to make this information available to many users is through smartphone applications. Smartphone applications can provide requested information in a readable and user friendly format. Information related to data such as real estate, property, post offices, crime locations and many others can be very useful. Such information helps city planners, residents, students and commuters to identify and communicate trends and patterns about places. ESRI`s ARCGIS provides various services and tools which help visualize real-world features, discover patterns, obtain information, and communicate that information to others. When these services work in conjunction with GPS based location services in smartphones, they create new avenues for applications. This thesis implements an Android smartphone application with features to analyze location based crime data. The user of this application can view crime data in a region and filter different crime types. The application allows the user to query and analyze crimes that have occurred near his location or at a location of interest. The application includes features to measure distance between crime spots and also measure area on the map. The user can also switch the base-map from street map to NatGeo map. Powered with this information, renters and home buyers can ensure that their new home is in a safe location. Real estate agents can buy or sell property in safer locations. Commuters can find routes which avoid crime spots. Tourists can find accommodation in safer places. Students can be aware of the high crime rate areas around the school campus. This application uses ArcGIS feature service by ESRI to render all data on the map.

An Innovative Smartphone-Based Otorhinoendoscope and Its Application in Mobile Health and Teleotolaryngology

PubMed Central

Wu, Cheng-Jung; Wu, Sheng-Yu; Chen, Po-Chun

2014-01-01

Background The traditional otorhinoendoscope is widely used in the diagnosis of a variety of ear and nose diseases, but only one doctor can use it at a time. It is also very difficult to share observations from one doctor with another doctor. With advances in electronic health technology, the extended potential application of smartphones to support medical practice or mobile health has grown steadily. Objective The first phase of the study discussed how smartphones may be used for otorhinoscopic imaging and image management via an innovative adaptor. The second phase of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic capability of the smartphone-based otorhinoendoscope, as compared to the traditional otorhinoendoscope, and its application in mobile health and teleotolaryngology. Methods We designed a unique adaptor to connect the otorhinoendoscope and smartphone in order to perform smartphone-based otorhinoendoscopy. The main aim was to transform the smartphone into an otorhinoendoscope. We devised a method that would allow us to use the smartphone’s camera to capture otorhinoscopic images. Using a freely available Web-based real-time communication application platform and the 3G (or WIFI) network, the smartphone-based otorhinoendoscope could synchronize the smartphone-based otorhinoscopic image with smartphones, tablet PCs, computer notebooks, or personal computers. Results We investigated the feasibility of telemedicine using a smartphone, tablet PC, and computer notebook. Six types of clinical otorhinoscopic images were acquired via the smartphone-based otorhinoendoscope from six patients, which were examined in this study. Three teleconsultants (doctors A, B, and C) reviewed the six types of clinical otorhinoscopic images and made a telediagnosis. When compared to the face-to-face diagnosis, which was made in-person via a traditional otorhinoendoscope, the three teleconsultants obtained scores of a correct primary telediagnosis 83% (5/6), 100% (6/6), and 100% (6/6) of the time, respectively. When the clinical data were provided, the three teleconsultants obtained a correct secondary telediagnosis score of 100% (6/6), 100% (6/6), and 100% (6/6) of the time, respectively. Conclusions The use of previously available technologies in the absence of any additional expensive devices could significantly increase the quality of diagnostics while lowering extraneous costs. Furthermore, this could also increase the connectivity between most isolated family doctors and remote referral centers. PMID:24590187

Smartphone usage in the 21st century: who is active on WhatsApp?

PubMed

Montag, Christian; Błaszkiewicz, Konrad; Sariyska, Rayna; Lachmann, Bernd; Andone, Ionut; Trendafilov, Boris; Eibes, Mark; Markowetz, Alexander

2015-08-04

Mounting evidence shows that smartphone usage heavily disrupts our work life and social activities. Moreover, it is possible that overuse could resemble addictive tendencies. A key contributing factor to smartphone overuse seems to be usage of the messaging application WhatsApp. Although WhatsApp is one of the most commonly used communication applications on smartphones, research in this area is scarce. Given the huge societal debate on the impact of smartphone usage on our daily lives, the present study undertook a large-scale investigation in order to provide numbers on smartphone usage generally-and use of WhatsApp in particular, with the aim of providing a basis for a scientific debate. In a large sample of N = 2,418 users, we recorded WhatsApp behaviour over a 4 week period. Our data show that use of WhatsApp accounted for 19.83% (= 32.11 min) of all smartphone behaviour (compare: Facebook only 9.38% = 15.19 min). The mean of general daily smartphone usage was 161.95 min. Females used WhatsApp for significantly longer periods of time than males and younger age was associated with longer duration of WhatsApp use. While the personality trait Extraversion was positively associated with daily WhatsApp use, Conscientiousness showed an inverse correlation with the length of daily WhatsApp use. The numbers on smartphone usage in the present study show that the smartphone dominates our daily life. In particular WhatsApp is a driving force, here. Given the length of daily smartphone and WhatsApp usage, more studies need to be conducted to better understand smartphone usage.

Patient Smartphone Ownership and Interest in Mobile Apps to Monitor Symptoms of Mental Health Conditions: A Survey in Four Geographically Distinct Psychiatric Clinics.

PubMed

Torous, John; Chan, Steven Richard; Yee-Marie Tan, Shih; Behrens, Jacob; Mathew, Ian; Conrad, Erich J; Hinton, Ladson; Yellowlees, Peter; Keshavan, Matcheri

2014-01-01

Despite growing interest in mobile mental health and utilization of smartphone technology to monitor psychiatric symptoms, there remains a lack of knowledge both regarding patient ownership of smartphones and their interest in using such to monitor their mental health. To provide data on psychiatric outpatients' prevalence of smartphone ownership and interest in using their smartphones to run applications to monitor their mental health. We surveyed 320 psychiatric outpatients from four clinics around the United States in order to capture a geographically and socioeconomically diverse patient population. These comprised a state clinic in Massachusetts (n=108), a county clinic in California (n=56), a hybrid public and private clinic in Louisiana (n=50), and a private/university clinic in Wisconsin (n=106). Smartphone ownership and interest in utilizing such to monitor mental health varied by both clinic type and age with overall ownership of 62.5% (200/320), which is slightly higher than the average United States' rate of ownership of 58% in January 2014. Overall patient interest in utilizing smartphones to monitor symptoms was 70.6% (226/320). These results suggest that psychiatric outpatients are interested in using their smartphones to monitor their mental health and own the smartphones capable of running mental healthcare related mobile applications.

Research on water management system based on Android

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Dongjiang; Hu, Songlin

2018-04-01

With the rapid development of Smart city, Smart water is an important part of Smart city, which is paid more and more attention. It obtains and deals with urban water information through information technology. It can effectively manage urban water supply, The sale of water and other processes. At the same time, due to the popularity of Smartphones, Smartphone applications have covered every aspect of life and become an indispensable part of people's daily life. Through the Smartphone applications, the user can achieve online mobile water purchase, query the water situation, water quality and other basic situation, greatly facilitate the use of the user, for wisdom water construction is of great significance. In this paper, the water management system based on Android is designed and implemented according to the user's needs. It includes intelligent water meter terminal, monitoring center server, Smartphone application and wireless communication network. The user can use the Smartphone at any time and at any place to view the user's water information in real time providing great convenience for users. So its application prospect is very broad as an important part of smart city.

Reliability and concurrent validity of a Smartphone, bubble inclinometer and motion analysis system for measurement of hip joint range of motion.

PubMed

Charlton, Paula C; Mentiplay, Benjamin F; Pua, Yong-Hao; Clark, Ross A

2015-05-01

Traditional methods of assessing joint range of motion (ROM) involve specialized tools that may not be widely available to clinicians. This study assesses the reliability and validity of a custom Smartphone application for assessing hip joint range of motion. Intra-tester reliability with concurrent validity. Passive hip joint range of motion was recorded for seven different movements in 20 males on two separate occasions. Data from a Smartphone, bubble inclinometer and a three dimensional motion analysis (3DMA) system were collected simultaneously. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), coefficients of variation (CV) and standard error of measurement (SEM) were used to assess reliability. To assess validity of the Smartphone application and the bubble inclinometer against the three dimensional motion analysis system, intraclass correlation coefficients and fixed and proportional biases were used. The Smartphone demonstrated good to excellent reliability (ICCs>0.75) for four out of the seven movements, and moderate to good reliability for the remaining three movements (ICC=0.63-0.68). Additionally, the Smartphone application displayed comparable reliability to the bubble inclinometer. The Smartphone application displayed excellent validity when compared to the three dimensional motion analysis system for all movements (ICCs>0.88) except one, which displayed moderate to good validity (ICC=0.71). Smartphones are portable and widely available tools that are mostly reliable and valid for assessing passive hip range of motion, with potential for large-scale use when a bubble inclinometer is not available. However, caution must be taken in its implementation as some movement axes demonstrated only moderate reliability. Copyright © 2014 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reliability of Smartphone-Based Instant Messaging Application for Diagnosis, Classification, and Decision-making in Pediatric Orthopedic Trauma.

PubMed

Stahl, Ido; Katsman, Alexander; Zaidman, Michael; Keshet, Doron; Sigal, Amit; Eidelman, Mark

2017-07-11

Smartphones have the ability to capture and send images, and their use has become common in the emergency setting for transmitting radiographic images with the intent to consult an off-site specialist. Our objective was to evaluate the reliability of smartphone-based instant messaging applications for the evaluation of various pediatric limb traumas, as compared with the standard method of viewing images of a workstation-based picture archiving and communication system (PACS). X-ray images of 73 representative cases of pediatric limb trauma were captured and transmitted to 5 pediatric orthopedic surgeons by the Whatsapp instant messaging application on an iPhone 6 smartphone. Evaluators were asked to diagnose, classify, and determine the course of treatment for each case over their personal smartphones. Following a 4-week interval, revaluation was conducted using the PACS. Intraobserver agreement was calculated for overall agreement and per fracture site. The overall results indicate "near perfect agreement" between interpretations of the radiographs on smartphones compared with computer-based PACS, with κ of 0.84, 0.82, and 0.89 for diagnosis, classification, and treatment planning, respectively. Looking at the results per fracture site, we also found substantial to near perfect agreement. Smartphone-based instant messaging applications are reliable for evaluation of a wide range of pediatric limb fractures. This method of obtaining an expert opinion from the off-site specialist is immediately accessible and inexpensive, making smartphones a powerful tool for doctors in the emergency department, primary care clinics, or remote medical centers, enabling timely and appropriate treatment for the injured child. This method is not a substitution for evaluation of the images in the standard method over computer-based PACS, which should be performed before final decision-making.

A sensor network to iPhone interface separating continuous and sporadic processes in mobile telemedicine.

PubMed

D'Angelo, Lorenzo T; Schneider, Michael; Neugebauer, Paul; Lueth, Tim C

2011-01-01

In this contribution, a new concept for interfacing sensor network nodes (motes) and smartphones is presented for the first time. In the last years, a variety of telemedicine applications on smartphones for data reception, display and transmission have been developed. However, it is not always practical or possible to have a smartphone application running continuously to accomplish these tasks. The presented system allows receiving and storing data continuously using a mote and visualizing or sending it on the go using the smartphone as user interface only when desired. Thus, the processes of data reception and storage run on a safe system consuming less energy and the smartphone's potential along with its battery are not demanded continuously. Both, system concept and realization with an Apple iPhone are presented.

Building a Smartphone Seismic Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kong, Q.; Allen, R. M.

2013-12-01

We are exploring to build a new type of seismic network by using the smartphones. The accelerometers in smartphones can be used to record earthquakes, the GPS unit can give an accurate location, and the built-in communication unit makes the communication easier for this network. In the future, these smartphones may work as a supplement network to the current traditional network for scientific research and real-time applications. In order to build this network, we developed an application for android phones and server to record the acceleration in real time. These records can be sent back to a server in real time, and analyzed at the server. We evaluated the performance of the smartphone as a seismic recording instrument by comparing them with high quality accelerometer while located on controlled shake tables for a variety of tests, and also the noise floor test. Based on the daily human activity data recorded by the volunteers and the shake table tests data, we also developed algorithm for the smartphones to detect earthquakes from daily human activities. These all form the basis of setting up a new prototype smartphone seismic network in the near future.

MyShake: Initial Observations from a Global Smartphone Seismic Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kong, Q.; Allen, R. M.; Schreier, L.

2016-12-01

MyShake is a global smartphone seismic network that harnesses the power of crowdsourcing. It has two component: an android application running on the personal smartphones to detect earthquake-like motion, and a network detection algorithm to aggregate results from multiple smartphones to detect earthquakes. The MyShake application was released to the public on Feb 12th 2016. Within the first 5 months, there are more than 200 earthquakes recorded by the smartphones all over the world, including events in Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Morocco, Greece, Nepal, New Zealand, Taiwan, Japan, and across North America. In this presentation, we will show the waveforms we recorded from the smartphones for different earthquakes, and the evidences for using this data as a supplementary to the current earthquake early warning system. We will also show the performance of MyShake system during the some earthquakes in US. In short, MyShake smartphone seismic network can be a nice complementary system to the current traditional seismic network, at the same time, it can be a standalone system in places where few seismic stations were installed to reduce the earthquake hazards.

Smartphone Applications for Promoting Healthy Diet and Nutrition: A Literature Review.

PubMed

Coughlin, Steven S; Whitehead, Mary; Sheats, Joyce Q; Mastromonico, Jeff; Hardy, Dale; Smith, Selina A

Rapid developments in technology have encouraged the use of smartphones in health promotion research and practice. Although many applications (apps) relating to diet and nutrition are available from major smartphone platforms, relatively few have been tested in research studies in order to determine their effectiveness in promoting health. In this article, we summarize data on the use of smartphone applications for promoting healthy diet and nutrition based upon bibliographic searches in PubMed and CINAHL with relevant search terms pertaining to diet, nutrition, and weight loss through August 2015. A total of 193 articles were identified in the bibliographic searches. By screening abstracts or full-text articles, a total of three relevant qualitative studies and 9 randomized controlled trials were identified. In qualitative studies, participants preferred applications that were quick and easy to administer, and those that increase awareness of food intake and weight management. In randomized trials, the use of smartphone apps was associated with better dietary compliance for lower calorie, low fat, and high fiber foods, and higher physical activity levels (p=0.01-0.02) which resulted in more weight loss (p=0.042-<0.0001). Future studies should utilize randomized controlled trial research designs, larger sample sizes, and longer study periods to better establish the diet and nutrition intervention capabilities of smartphones. There is a need for culturally appropriate, tailored health messages to increase knowledge and awareness of health behaviors such as healthy eating. Smartphone apps are likely to be a useful and low-cost intervention for improving diet and nutrition and addressing obesity in the general population. Participants prefer applications that are quick and easy to administer and those that increase awareness of food intake and weight management.

Smartphone Applications for Promoting Healthy Diet and Nutrition: A Literature Review

PubMed Central

Coughlin, Steven S.; Whitehead, Mary; Sheats, Joyce Q.; Mastromonico, Jeff; Hardy, Dale; Smith, Selina A.

2015-01-01

Background Rapid developments in technology have encouraged the use of smartphones in health promotion research and practice. Although many applications (apps) relating to diet and nutrition are available from major smartphone platforms, relatively few have been tested in research studies in order to determine their effectiveness in promoting health. Methods In this article, we summarize data on the use of smartphone applications for promoting healthy diet and nutrition based upon bibliographic searches in PubMed and CINAHL with relevant search terms pertaining to diet, nutrition, and weight loss through August 2015. Results A total of 193 articles were identified in the bibliographic searches. By screening abstracts or full-text articles, a total of three relevant qualitative studies and 9 randomized controlled trials were identified. In qualitative studies, participants preferred applications that were quick and easy to administer, and those that increase awareness of food intake and weight management. In randomized trials, the use of smartphone apps was associated with better dietary compliance for lower calorie, low fat, and high fiber foods, and higher physical activity levels (p=0.01-0.02) which resulted in more weight loss (p=0.042-<0.0001). Discussion Future studies should utilize randomized controlled trial research designs, larger sample sizes, and longer study periods to better establish the diet and nutrition intervention capabilities of smartphones. There is a need for culturally appropriate, tailored health messages to increase knowledge and awareness of health behaviors such as healthy eating. Smartphone apps are likely to be a useful and low-cost intervention for improving diet and nutrition and addressing obesity in the general population. Participants prefer applications that are quick and easy to administer and those that increase awareness of food intake and weight management. PMID:26819969

Smartphone-based low light detection for bioluminescence application

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

We report a smartphone-based device and associated imaging-processing algorithm to maximize the sensitivity of standard smartphone cameras, that can detect the presence of single-digit pW of radiant flux intensity. The proposed hardware and software, called bioluminescent-based analyte quantitation ...

Real-time image processing for non-contact monitoring of dynamic displacements using smartphone technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Min, Jae-Hong; Gelo, Nikolas J.; Jo, Hongki

2016-04-01

The newly developed smartphone application, named RINO, in this study allows measuring absolute dynamic displacements and processing them in real time using state-of-the-art smartphone technologies, such as high-performance graphics processing unit (GPU), in addition to already powerful CPU and memories, embedded high-speed/ resolution camera, and open-source computer vision libraries. A carefully designed color-patterned target and user-adjustable crop filter enable accurate and fast image processing, allowing up to 240fps for complete displacement calculation and real-time display. The performances of the developed smartphone application are experimentally validated, showing comparable accuracy with those of conventional laser displacement sensor.

Comparing the Self-Report and Measured Smartphone Usage of College Students: A Pilot Study.

PubMed

Lee, Heyoung; Ahn, Heejune; Nguyen, Trung Giang; Choi, Sam-Wook; Kim, Dae Jin

2017-03-01

Nowadays smartphone overuse has become a social and medical concern. For the diagnosis and treatment, clinicians use the self-report information, but the report data often does not match actual usage pattern. The paper examines the similarity and variance in smartphone usage patterns between the measured data and self-reported data. Together with the self-reported data, the real usage log data is collected from 35 college students in a metropolitan region of Northeast Asia, using Android smartphone monitoring application developed by the authors. The unconscious users underestimate their usage time by 40%, in spite of 15% more use in the actual usage. Messengers are most-used application regardless of their self-report, and significant preference to SNS applications was observed in addict group. The actual hourly pattern is consistent with the reported one. College students use more in the afternoon, when they have more free time and cannot use PCs. No significant difference in hourly pattern is observed between the measured and self-report. The result shows there are significant cognitive bias in actual usage patterns exists in self report of smartphone addictions. Clinicians are recommended to utilize measurement tools in diagnosis and treatment of smartphone overusing subjects.

Smartphone and Mobile Application Utilization Prior to and Following Treatment Among Individuals Enrolled in Residential Substance Use Treatment

PubMed Central

Dahne, Jennifer; Lejuez, C. W.

2015-01-01

Background Following completion of substance use treatment, it is crucial for patients to continue to utilize skills learned in treatment for optimal treatment outcomes. Mobile applications (apps) on smartphones offer a unique platform to promote utilization of evidence-based skills following completion of substance use treatment. Despite the promise of mobile apps and smartphones for treatment delivery, it remains unknown whether patients in substance use treatment in the United States have access to smartphones and utilize mobile apps on smartphones. The present study sought to determine smartphone utilization among individuals enrolled in one residential substance use treatment center in the U.S catering specifically to low-income adults. Methods Participants included 251 individuals at a residential substance use treatment center in Washington DC admitted to the center between March, 2014 and January, 2015. During the intake process, participants completed interviewer-administered demographics and psychiatric questionnaires as well as a self-report of technology utilization. Results Results indicated that the majority of patients in this residential substance use treatment center owned mobile phones prior to treatment entry (86.9%) and expected to own mobile phones after leaving treatment (92.6%). Moreover, the majority of these phones were (68.5%) or will be smartphones (72.4%) on which patients reported utilizing mobile applications (Prior to treatment: 61.3%; Post treatment: 64.3%) and accessing the internet (Prior to treatment: 61.3%; Post treatment: 65.9%). Conclusions Mobile phone and smartphone ownership among this sample were comparable to ownership among U.S. adults broadly. Findings suggest that smartphones and mobile apps may hold clinical utility for fostering continued use of treatment skills following substance use treatment completion. PMID:26231698

Smartphone and Mobile Application Utilization Prior to and Following Treatment Among Individuals Enrolled in Residential Substance Use Treatment.

PubMed

Dahne, Jennifer; Lejuez, Carl W

2015-11-01

Following completion of substance use treatment, it is crucial for patients to continue to utilize skills learned in treatment for optimal treatment outcomes. Mobile applications (apps) on smartphones offer a unique platform to promote utilization of evidence-based skills following completion of substance use treatment. Despite the promise of mobile apps and smartphones for treatment delivery, it remains unknown whether patients in substance use treatment in the United States have access to smartphones and utilize mobile apps on smartphones. The present study sought to determine smartphone utilization among individuals enrolled in one residential substance use treatment center in the U.S. catering specifically to low-income adults. Participants included 251 individuals at a residential substance use treatment center in Washington DC admitted to the center between March, 2014 and January, 2015. During the intake process, participants completed interviewer-administered demographics and psychiatric questionnaires as well as a self-report of technology utilization. Results indicated that the majority of patients in this residential substance use treatment center owned mobile phones prior to treatment entry (86.9%) and expected to own mobile phones after leaving treatment (92.6%). Moreover, the majority of these phones were (68.5%) or will be smartphones (72.4%) on which patients reported utilizing mobile applications (prior to treatment: 61.3%; post treatment: 64.3%) and accessing the Internet (prior to treatment: 61.3%; post treatment: 65.9%). Mobile phone and smartphone ownership among this sample were comparable to ownership among U.S. adults broadly. Findings suggest that smartphones and mobile apps may hold clinical utility for fostering continued use of treatment skills following substance use treatment completion. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An analysis of security system for intrusion in Smartphone environment.

PubMed

Louk, Maya; Lim, Hyotaek; Lee, HoonJae

2014-01-01

There are many malware applications in Smartphone. Smartphone's users may become unaware if their data has been recorded and stolen by intruders via malware. Smartphone--whether for business or personal use--may not be protected from malwares. Thus, monitoring, detecting, tracking, and notification (MDTN) have become the main purpose of the writing of this paper. MDTN is meant to enable Smartphone to prevent and reduce the number of cybercrimes. The methods are shown to be effective in protecting Smartphone and isolating malware and sending warning in the form of notification to the user about the danger in progress. In particular, (a) MDTN process is possible and will be enabled for Smartphone environment. (b) The methods are shown to be an advanced security for private sensitive data of the Smartphone user.

Designing smartphone mental health applications for emergency service workers.

PubMed

Deady, M; Peters, D; Lang, H; Calvo, R; Glozier, N; Christensen, H; Harvey, S B

2017-08-01

Emergency service workers are often exposed to trauma and have increased risk of a range of mental health (MH) conditions. Smartphone applications have the potential to provide this group with effective psychological interventions; however, little is known about the acceptability and preferences regarding such initiatives. To describe the preferences and opinions of emergency service workers regarding the use of smartphone MH applications and to examine the impact of age on these preferences. Participants were recruited from four metropolitan Fire and Rescue NSW stations and responded to questionnaire items covering three key domains: current smartphone use, potential future use and preferences for design and content as well as therapeutic techniques. Overall, approximately half the sample (n = 106) claimed they would be interested in trying a tailored emergency-worker MH smartphone application. There were few differences between age groups on preferences. The majority of respondents claimed they would use an app for mental well-being daily and preferred terms such as 'well-being' and 'mental fitness' for referring to MH. Confidentiality, along with a focus on stress, sleep, exercise and resiliency were all considered key features. Behavioural therapeutic techniques were regarded most favourably, compared with other therapies. Emergency workers were interested in utilizing smartphone applications focused on MH, but expressed clear preferences regarding language used in promotion, features required and therapeutic techniques preferred. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

A mixed methods pilot study to investigate the impact of a hospital-specific iPhone application (iTreat) within a British junior doctor cohort.

PubMed

Payne, Karl Fb; Weeks, Lucy; Dunning, Paul

2014-03-01

We present a pilot study to investigate the impact of introducing a hospital-specific smartphone application into a cohort of British junior doctors. We created the iPhone application 'iTreat' that contained disease management and antibiotic dosing guidelines specific to our hospital, together with a postgraduate education department really simple syndication feed, a contact number phonebook and a favourites section. This intervention was trialled in a group of 39 foundation grade junior doctors, in a UK hospital, for a time period of 4 months. Mixed methods data capture, utilising survey and semi-structured interviews, was used to evaluate application usage patterns and potential barriers to endorsement of smartphone technology in the hospital setting. Sixty eight per cent of participants felt the application saved them time during clinical activities, with a decrease in the frequency of participants not referring to hospital clinical guidelines. The findings from this pilot study point towards the internal hospital environment as having a major impact upon smartphone usage. Participants viewed smartphone use as unprofessional in the ward-based setting, with a perceived negative attitude from other healthcare staff. An understanding of how healthcare staff choose to utilise smartphones in the clinical environment is crucial to enable the successful assimilation of smartphone technology into the hospital setting. This pilot study provides experience and parameters for future substantive studies being carried out by this group.

Development of smartphone applications for nutrition and physical activity behavior change.

PubMed

Hebden, Lana; Cook, Amelia; van der Ploeg, Hidde P; Allman-Farinelli, Margaret

2012-08-22

Young adults (aged 18 to 35) are a population group at high risk for weight gain, yet we know little about how to intervene in this group. Easy access to treatment and support with self-monitoring of their behaviors may be important. Smartphones are gaining in popularity with this population group and software applications ("apps") used on these mobile devices are a novel technology that can be used to deliver brief health behavior change interventions directly to individuals en masse, with potentially favorable cost-utility. However, existing apps for modifying nutrition or physical activity behaviors may not always reflect best practice guidelines for weight management. This paper describes the process of developing four apps aimed at modifying key lifestyle behaviors associated with weight gain during young adulthood, including physical activity, and consumption of take-out foods (fast food), fruit and vegetables, and sugar-sweetened drinks. The development process involved: (1) deciding on the behavior change strategies, relevant guidelines, graphic design, and potential data collection; (2) selecting the platform (Web-based versus native); (3) creating the design, which required decisions about the user interface, architecture of the relational database, and programming code; and (4) testing the prototype versions with the target audience (young adults aged 18 to 35). The four apps took 18 months to develop, involving the fields of marketing, nutrition and dietetics, physical activity, and information technology. Ten subjects provided qualitative feedback about using the apps. The slow running speed of the apps (due to a reliance on an active Internet connection) was the primary issue identified by this group, as well as the requirement to log in to the apps. Smartphone apps may be an innovative medium for delivering individual health behavior change intervention en masse, but researchers must give consideration to the target population, available technologies, existing commercial apps, and the possibility that their use will be irregular and short-lived.

Development of Smartphone Applications for Nutrition and Physical Activity Behavior Change

PubMed Central

Cook, Amelia; van der Ploeg, Hidde P; Allman-Farinelli, Margaret

2012-01-01

Background Young adults (aged 18 to 35) are a population group at high risk for weight gain, yet we know little about how to intervene in this group. Easy access to treatment and support with self-monitoring of their behaviors may be important. Smartphones are gaining in popularity with this population group and software applications (“apps”) used on these mobile devices are a novel technology that can be used to deliver brief health behavior change interventions directly to individuals en masse, with potentially favorable cost-utility. However, existing apps for modifying nutrition or physical activity behaviors may not always reflect best practice guidelines for weight management. Objective This paper describes the process of developing four apps aimed at modifying key lifestyle behaviors associated with weight gain during young adulthood, including physical activity, and consumption of take-out foods (fast food), fruit and vegetables, and sugar-sweetened drinks. Methods The development process involved: (1) deciding on the behavior change strategies, relevant guidelines, graphic design, and potential data collection; (2) selecting the platform (Web-based versus native); (3) creating the design, which required decisions about the user interface, architecture of the relational database, and programming code; and (4) testing the prototype versions with the target audience (young adults aged 18 to 35). Results The four apps took 18 months to develop, involving the fields of marketing, nutrition and dietetics, physical activity, and information technology. Ten subjects provided qualitative feedback about using the apps. The slow running speed of the apps (due to a reliance on an active Internet connection) was the primary issue identified by this group, as well as the requirement to log in to the apps. Conclusions Smartphone apps may be an innovative medium for delivering individual health behavior change intervention en masse, but researchers must give consideration to the target population, available technologies, existing commercial apps, and the possibility that their use will be irregular and short-lived. PMID:23611892

Patient Smartphone Ownership and Interest in Mobile Apps to Monitor Symptoms of Mental Health Conditions: A Survey in Four Geographically Distinct Psychiatric Clinics

PubMed Central

Chan, Steven Richard; Yee-Marie Tan, Shih; Behrens, Jacob; Mathew, Ian; Conrad, Erich J; Hinton, Ladson; Yellowlees, Peter; Keshavan, Matcheri

2014-01-01

Background Despite growing interest in mobile mental health and utilization of smartphone technology to monitor psychiatric symptoms, there remains a lack of knowledge both regarding patient ownership of smartphones and their interest in using such to monitor their mental health. Objective To provide data on psychiatric outpatients’ prevalence of smartphone ownership and interest in using their smartphones to run applications to monitor their mental health. Methods We surveyed 320 psychiatric outpatients from four clinics around the United States in order to capture a geographically and socioeconomically diverse patient population. These comprised a state clinic in Massachusetts (n=108), a county clinic in California (n=56), a hybrid public and private clinic in Louisiana (n=50), and a private/university clinic in Wisconsin (n=106). Results Smartphone ownership and interest in utilizing such to monitor mental health varied by both clinic type and age with overall ownership of 62.5% (200/320), which is slightly higher than the average United States’ rate of ownership of 58% in January 2014. Overall patient interest in utilizing smartphones to monitor symptoms was 70.6% (226/320). Conclusions These results suggest that psychiatric outpatients are interested in using their smartphones to monitor their mental health and own the smartphones capable of running mental healthcare related mobile applications. PMID:26543905

Photoplethysmography using a smartphone application for assessment of ulnar artery patency: a randomized clinical trial

PubMed Central

Di Santo, Pietro; Harnett, David T.; Simard, Trevor; Ramirez, F. Daniel; Pourdjabbar, Ali; Yousef, Altayyeb; Moreland, Robert; Bernick, Jordan; Wells, George; Dick, Alexander; Le May, Michel; Labinaz, Marino; So, Derek; Motazedian, Pouya; Jung, Richard G.; Chandrasekhar, Jaya; Mehran, Roxana; Chong, Aun-Yeong

2018-01-01

BACKGROUND: Radial artery access is commonly performed for coronary angiography and invasive hemodynamic monitoring. Despite limitations in diagnostic accuracy, the modified Allen test (manual occlusion of radial and ulnar arteries followed by release of the latter and assessment of palmar blush) is used routinely to evaluate the collateral circulation to the hand and, therefore, to determine patient eligibility for radial artery access. We sought to evaluate whether a smartphone application may provide a superior alternative to the modified Allen test. METHODS: We compared the modified Allen test with a smartphone heart rate–monitoring application (photoplethysmography readings detected using a smartphone camera lens placed on the patient’s index finger) in patients undergoing a planned cardiac catheterization. Test order was randomly assigned in a 1:1 fashion. All patients then underwent conventional plethysmography of the index finger, followed by Doppler ultrasonography of the radial and ulnar arteries (the diagnostic standard). The primary outcome was diagnostic accuracy of the heart rate–monitoring application. RESULTS: Among 438 patients who were included in the study, we found that the heart rate–monitoring application had a superior diagnostic accuracy compared with the modified Allen test (91.8% v. 81.7%, p = 0.002), attributable to its greater specificity (93.0% v. 82.8%, p = 0.001). We also found that this application had greater diagnostic accuracy for assessment of radial or ulnar artery patency in the ipsilateral and contralateral wrist (94.0% v. 84.0%, p < 0.001). INTERPRETATION: A smartphone application used at the bedside was diagnostically superior to traditional physical examination for confirming ulnar patency before radial artery access. This study highlights the potential for smartphone-based diagnostics to aid in clinical decision-making at the patient’s bedside. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov, no. NCT02519491. PMID:29615421

Photoplethysmography using a smartphone application for assessment of ulnar artery patency: a randomized clinical trial.

PubMed

Di Santo, Pietro; Harnett, David T; Simard, Trevor; Ramirez, F Daniel; Pourdjabbar, Ali; Yousef, Altayyeb; Moreland, Robert; Bernick, Jordan; Wells, George; Dick, Alexander; Le May, Michel; Labinaz, Marino; So, Derek; Motazedian, Pouya; Jung, Richard G; Chandrasekhar, Jaya; Mehran, Roxana; Chong, Aun-Yeong; Hibbert, Benjamin

2018-04-03

Radial artery access is commonly performed for coronary angiography and invasive hemodynamic monitoring. Despite limitations in diagnostic accuracy, the modified Allen test (manual occlusion of radial and ulnar arteries followed by release of the latter and assessment of palmar blush) is used routinely to evaluate the collateral circulation to the hand and, therefore, to determine patient eligibility for radial artery access. We sought to evaluate whether a smartphone application may provide a superior alternative to the modified Allen test. We compared the modified Allen test with a smartphone heart rate-monitoring application (photoplethysmography readings detected using a smartphone camera lens placed on the patient's index finger) in patients undergoing a planned cardiac catheterization. Test order was randomly assigned in a 1:1 fashion. All patients then underwent conventional plethysmography of the index finger, followed by Doppler ultrasonography of the radial and ulnar arteries (the diagnostic standard). The primary outcome was diagnostic accuracy of the heart rate-monitoring application. Among 438 patients who were included in the study, we found that the heart rate-monitoring application had a superior diagnostic accuracy compared with the modified Allen test (91.8% v. 81.7%, p = 0.002), attributable to its greater specificity (93.0% v. 82.8%, p = 0.001). We also found that this application had greater diagnostic accuracy for assessment of radial or ulnar artery patency in the ipsilateral and contralateral wrist (94.0% v. 84.0%, p < 0.001). A smartphone application used at the bedside was diagnostically superior to traditional physical examination for confirming ulnar patency before radial artery access. This study highlights the potential for smartphone-based diagnostics to aid in clinical decision-making at the patient's bedside. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov, no. NCT02519491. © 2018 Joule Inc. or its licensors.

Comparison between smartphone pedometer applications and traditional pedometers for improving physical activity and body mass index in community-dwelling older adults

PubMed Central

Fong, Shirley S.M.; Ng, Shamay S.M.; Cheng, Yoyo T.Y.; Zhang, Joni; Chung, Louisa M.Y.; Chow, Gary C.C.; Chak, Yvonne T.C.; Chan, Ivy K.Y.; Macfarlane, Duncan J.

2016-01-01

[Purpose] The effectiveness of a smartphone pedometer application was compared with that of a traditional pedometer for improving the physical activity and weight status of community-dwelling older adults. [Subjects and Methods] This study had a nonequivalent pretest-posttest control group design. Ninety-seven older adults (mean age ± SD, 60.1 ± 5.5 years) joined the smartphone pedometer group and underwent a 2-week walking intervention based on a smartphone pedometer application. Fifty-four older adults (mean age ± SD, 65.3 ± 8.7 years) joined the traditional pedometer group and underwent a 2-week walking intervention based on a traditional pedometer. The participants’ physical activity was evaluated using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire–Short Form, and their weight status was quantified by calculating the body mass index. The daily pedometer count was also documented. [Results] No significant time, group, or time-by-group interaction effects were found for any of the outcome variables. However, trends of improvement in physical activity and body mass index were seen only in the smartphone pedometer group. [Conclusion] A smartphone pedometer application might be more favorable than a traditional pedometer in improving physical activity and body mass index in community-dwelling older adults. However, further experimental studies are necessary to confirm the results. PMID:27313391

Comparison between smartphone pedometer applications and traditional pedometers for improving physical activity and body mass index in community-dwelling older adults.

PubMed

Fong, Shirley S M; Ng, Shamay S M; Cheng, Yoyo T Y; Zhang, Joni; Chung, Louisa M Y; Chow, Gary C C; Chak, Yvonne T C; Chan, Ivy K Y; Macfarlane, Duncan J

2016-05-01

[Purpose] The effectiveness of a smartphone pedometer application was compared with that of a traditional pedometer for improving the physical activity and weight status of community-dwelling older adults. [Subjects and Methods] This study had a nonequivalent pretest-posttest control group design. Ninety-seven older adults (mean age ± SD, 60.1 ± 5.5 years) joined the smartphone pedometer group and underwent a 2-week walking intervention based on a smartphone pedometer application. Fifty-four older adults (mean age ± SD, 65.3 ± 8.7 years) joined the traditional pedometer group and underwent a 2-week walking intervention based on a traditional pedometer. The participants' physical activity was evaluated using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form, and their weight status was quantified by calculating the body mass index. The daily pedometer count was also documented. [Results] No significant time, group, or time-by-group interaction effects were found for any of the outcome variables. However, trends of improvement in physical activity and body mass index were seen only in the smartphone pedometer group. [Conclusion] A smartphone pedometer application might be more favorable than a traditional pedometer in improving physical activity and body mass index in community-dwelling older adults. However, further experimental studies are necessary to confirm the results.

Smartphone Applications with Sensors Used in a Tertiary Hospital—Current Status and Future Challenges

PubMed Central

Park, Yu Rang; Lee, Yura; Lee, Guna; Lee, Jae Ho; Shin, Soo-Yong

2015-01-01

Smartphones have been widely used recently to monitor heart rate and activity, since they have the necessary processing power, non-invasive and cost-effective sensors, and wireless communication capabilities. Consequently, healthcare applications (apps) using smartphone-based sensors have been highlighted for non-invasive physiological monitoring. In addition, several healthcare apps have received FDA clearance. However, in spite of their potential, healthcare apps with smartphone-based sensors are mostly used outside of hospitals and have not been widely adopted for patient care in hospitals until recently. In this paper, we describe the experience of using smartphone apps with sensors in a large medical center in Korea. Among >20 apps developed in our medical center, four were extensively analyzed (“My Cancer Diary”, “Point-of-Care HIV Check”, “Blood Culture” and “mAMIS”), since they use smartphone-based sensors such as the camera and barcode reader to enter data into the electronic health record system. By analyzing the usage patterns of these apps for data entry with sensors, the current limitations of smartphone-based sensors in a clinical setting, hurdles against adoption in the medical center, benefits of smartphone-based sensors and potential future research directions could be evaluated. PMID:25923933

Randomized, Controlled Pilot Trial of a Smartphone App for Smoking Cessation Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

PubMed Central

Bricker, Jonathan B.; Mull, Kristin; Kientz, Julie A.; Vilardaga, Roger M.; Mercer, Laina D.; Akioka, Katrina; Heffner, Jaimee L.

2014-01-01

Background There is a dual need for (1) innovative theory-based smartphone applications for smoking cessation and (2) controlled trials to evaluate their efficacy. Accordingly, this study tested the feasibility, acceptability, preliminary efficacy, and mechanism of behavioral change of an innovative smartphone-delivered Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) application for smoking cessation versus an application following US Clinical Practice Guidelines. Method Adult participants were recruited nationally into the double-blind randomized controlled pilot trial (N = 196) that compared smartphone-delivered ACT for smoking cessation application (SmartQuit) with the National Cancer Institute's application for smoking cessation (QuitGuide). Results We recruited 196 participants in two months. SmartQuit participants opened their application an average of 37.2 times, as compared to 15.2 times for QuitGuide participants (p <.0001). The overall quit rates were 13% in SmartQuit vs. 8% in QuitGuide (OR=2.7; 95% CI=0.8-10.3). Consistent with ACT's theory of change, among those scoring low (below the median) on acceptance of cravings at baseline (n = 88), the quit rates were 15% in SmartQuit vs. 8% in QuitGuide (OR=2.9; 95% CI=0.6-20.7). Conclusions ACT is feasible to deliver by smartphone application and shows higher engagement and promising quit rates compared to an application that follows US Clinical Practice Guidelines. As results were limited by the pilot design (e.g., small sample), a full-scale efficacy trial is now needed. PMID:25085225

Applications of connected vehicle infrastructure technologies to enhance transit service efficiency and safety.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-09-30

Many transit agencies provide real-time operational information and trip-planning tools through phone, Web, and smartphone applications. These services utilize a one-way information flow from transit agencies to transit users. Current smartphone tech...

There’s an App for That: A Guide for Healthcare Practitioners and Researchers on Smartphone Technology

PubMed Central

Trevena, Lyndal

2015-01-01

Smartphone technology is nascent compared to other technologies; however, it has shown an unprecedented uptake amongst lay consumers and professionals. This article presents the history, components, and key features of smartphones, as well as their related concepts and how they work, and it also delineates the process of smartphone applications (apps) development and publishing in the app stores. It also describes and discusses smartphone technology utilisation for health consumers, healthcare professionals, and health researchers, as well as the regulations of health-related apps. PMID:26392848

Indoor integrated navigation and synchronous data acquisition method for Android smartphone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Chunsheng; Wei, Wenjian; Qin, Shiqiao; Wang, Xingshu; Habib, Ayman; Wang, Ruisheng

2015-08-01

Smartphones are widely used at present. Most smartphones have cameras and kinds of sensors, such as gyroscope, accelerometer and magnet meter. Indoor navigation based on smartphone is very important and valuable. According to the features of the smartphone and indoor navigation, a new indoor integrated navigation method is proposed, which uses MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), camera and magnet meter of smartphone. The proposed navigation method mainly involves data acquisition, camera calibration, image measurement, IMU calibration, initial alignment, strapdown integral, zero velocity update and integrated navigation. Synchronous data acquisition of the sensors (gyroscope, accelerometer and magnet meter) and the camera is the base of the indoor navigation on the smartphone. A camera data acquisition method is introduced, which uses the camera class of Android to record images and time of smartphone camera. Two kinds of sensor data acquisition methods are introduced and compared. The first method records sensor data and time with the SensorManager of Android. The second method realizes open, close, data receiving and saving functions in C language, and calls the sensor functions in Java language with JNI interface. A data acquisition software is developed with JDK (Java Development Kit), Android ADT (Android Development Tools) and NDK (Native Development Kit). The software can record camera data, sensor data and time at the same time. Data acquisition experiments have been done with the developed software and Sumsang Note 2 smartphone. The experimental results show that the first method of sensor data acquisition is convenient but lost the sensor data sometimes, the second method is much better in real-time performance and much less in data losing. A checkerboard image is recorded, and the corner points of the checkerboard are detected with the Harris method. The sensor data of gyroscope, accelerometer and magnet meter have been recorded about 30 minutes. The bias stability and noise feature of the sensors have been analyzed. Besides the indoor integrated navigation, the integrated navigation and synchronous data acquisition method can be applied to outdoor navigation.

Surgical smartphone applications across different platforms: their evolution, uses, and users.

PubMed

Kulendran, Myutan; Lim, Marcus; Laws, Georgia; Chow, Andre; Nehme, Jean; Darzi, Ara; Purkayastha, Sanjay

2014-08-01

There are a vast array of smartphone applications that could benefit both surgeons and their patients. To review and identify all relevant surgical smartphone applications available for the Apple iPhone iOS and Google Android platform based on their user group and subspecialty for which they were designed. Both the literature using PubMed and Google Scholar were searched using the following terms: application$, smartphone$, app$, app*, surgery, surgical, surg*, general surgery, general surg*, bariatric$, urology and plastic surgery, ortho*, orthop(a)edic, cardiac surgery, cardiothoracic, neurosurgery, and ophthalmology. The search yielded 38 articles of which 23 were eligible. Each of the key specialties was searched in the Apple iTunes App Store for iPhone iOS and the Google Play Android application store. In total, there were 621 surgical applications for Apple iPhone iOS and 97 identified on Android's Google Play. There has been a 9-fold increase in the number of surgical applications available for the Apple iPhone iOS from 2009 to 2012. Of these applications there were 126 dedicated to plastic surgery, 79 to orthopedics, 41 to neurosurgical, 180 to general surgery, 36 to cardiac surgery, 121 to ophthalmology, and 44 to urology. There was a wide range of applications ranging from simple flashcards to be used for revision to virtual surgery applications that provided surgical exposure and familiarization with common operative procedures. Despite the plethora of surgical applications available for smartphones, there is no taxonomy for medical applications. Only 12% were affiliated with an academic institution or association, which highlights the need for greater regulation of surgical applications. © The Author(s) 2014.

Universities and Libraries Move to the Mobile Web

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aldrich, Alan W.

2010-01-01

The convergence of web-enabled smartphones, the applications designed for smartphone interfaces, and cloud computing is rapidly changing how people interact with each other and with their environments. The commercial sector has taken the lead in creating mobile websites that leverage the capacities of smartphones, and the academic community has…

Incorporation of Mobile Application (App) Measures Into the Diagnosis of Smartphone Addiction.

PubMed

Lin, Yu-Hsuan; Lin, Po-Hsien; Chiang, Chih-Lin; Lee, Yang-Han; Yang, Cheryl C H; Kuo, Terry B J; Lin, Sheng-Hsuan

2017-07-01

Global smartphone expansion has brought about unprecedented addictive behaviors. The current diagnosis of smartphone addiction is based solely on information from clinical interview. This study aimed to incorporate application (app)-recorded data into psychiatric criteria for the diagnosis of smartphone addiction and to examine the predictive ability of the app-recorded data for the diagnosis of smartphone addiction. Smartphone use data of 79 college students were recorded by a newly developed app for 1 month between December 1, 2013, and May 31, 2014. For each participant, psychiatrists made a diagnosis for smartphone addiction based on 2 approaches: (1) only diagnostic interview (standard diagnosis) and (2) both diagnostic interview and app-recorded data (app-incorporated diagnosis). The app-incorporated diagnosis was further used to build app-incorporated diagnostic criteria. In addition, the app-recorded data were pooled as a score to predict smartphone addiction diagnosis. When app-incorporated diagnosis was used as a gold standard for 12 candidate criteria, 7 criteria showed significant accuracy (area under receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC] > 0.7) and were constructed as app-incorporated diagnostic criteria, which demonstrated remarkable accuracy (92.4%) for app-incorporated diagnosis. In addition, both frequency and duration of daily smartphone use significantly predicted app-incorporated diagnosis (AUC = 0.70 for frequency; AUC = 0.72 for duration). The combination of duration, frequency, and frequency trend for 1 month can accurately predict smartphone addiction diagnosis (AUC = 0.79 for app-incorporated diagnosis; AUC = 0.71 for standard diagnosis). The app-incorporated diagnosis, combining both psychiatric interview and app-recorded data, demonstrated substantial accuracy for smartphone addiction diagnosis. In addition, the app-recorded data performed as an accurate screening tool for app-incorporated diagnosis. © Copyright 2017 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

Application Possibility of Smartphone as Payload for Photogrammetric Uav System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yun, M. H.; Kim, J.; Seo, D.; Lee, J.; Choi, C.

2012-07-01

Smartphone can not only be operated under 3G network environment anytime and anyplace but also cost less than the existing photogrammetric UAV since it provides high-resolution image, 3D location and attitude data on a real-time basis from a variety of built-in sensors. This study is aimed to assess the possibility of smartphone as a payload for photogrammetric UAV system. Prior to such assessment, a smartphone-based photogrammetric UAV system application was developed, through which real-time image, location and attitude data was obtained using smartphone under both static and dynamic conditions. Subsequently the accuracy assessment on the location and attitude data obtained and sent by this system was conducted. The smartphone images were converted into ortho-images through image triangulation. The image triangulation was conducted in accordance with presence or absence of consideration of the interior orientation (IO) parameters determined by camera calibration. In case IO parameters were taken into account in the static experiment, the results from triangulation for any smartphone type were within 1.5 pixel (RMSE), which was improved at least by 35% compared to when IO parameters were not taken into account. On the contrary, the improvement effect of considering IO parameters on accuracy in triangulation for smartphone images in dynamic experiment was not significant compared to the static experiment. It was due to the significant impact of vibration and sudden attitude change of UAV on the actuator for automatic focus control within the camera built in smartphone under the dynamic condition. This cause appears to have a negative impact on the image-based DEM generation. Considering these study findings, it is suggested that smartphone is very feasible as a payload for UAV system. It is also expected that smartphone may be loaded onto existing UAV playing direct or indirect roles significantly.

Reliability and validity of gait analysis by android-based smartphone.

PubMed

Nishiguchi, Shu; Yamada, Minoru; Nagai, Koutatsu; Mori, Shuhei; Kajiwara, Yuu; Sonoda, Takuya; Yoshimura, Kazuya; Yoshitomi, Hiroyuki; Ito, Hiromu; Okamoto, Kazuya; Ito, Tatsuaki; Muto, Shinyo; Ishihara, Tatsuya; Aoyama, Tomoki

2012-05-01

Smartphones are very common devices in daily life that have a built-in tri-axial accelerometer. Similar to previously developed accelerometers, smartphones can be used to assess gait patterns. However, few gait analyses have been performed using smartphones, and their reliability and validity have not been evaluated yet. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of a smartphone accelerometer. Thirty healthy young adults participated in this study. They walked 20 m at their preferred speeds, and their trunk accelerations were measured using a smartphone and a tri-axial accelerometer that was secured over the L3 spinous process. We developed a gait analysis application and installed it in the smartphone to measure the acceleration. After signal processing, we calculated the gait parameters of each measurement terminal: peak frequency (PF), root mean square (RMS), autocorrelation peak (AC), and coefficient of variance (CV) of the acceleration peak intervals. Remarkable consistency was observed in the test-retest reliability of all the gait parameter results obtained by the smartphone (p<0.001). All the gait parameter results obtained by the smartphone showed statistically significant and considerable correlations with the same parameter results obtained by the tri-axial accelerometer (PF r=0.99, RMS r=0.89, AC r=0.85, CV r=0.82; p<0.01). Our study indicates that the smartphone with gait analysis application used in this study has the capacity to quantify gait parameters with a degree of accuracy that is comparable to that of the tri-axial accelerometer.

A hybrid smartphone indoor positioning solution for mobile LBS.

PubMed

Liu, Jingbin; Chen, Ruizhi; Pei, Ling; Guinness, Robert; Kuusniemi, Heidi

2012-12-12

Smartphone positioning is an enabling technology used to create new business in the navigation and mobile location-based services (LBS) industries. This paper presents a smartphone indoor positioning engine named HIPE that can be easily integrated with mobile LBS. HIPE is a hybrid solution that fuses measurements of smartphone sensors with wireless signals. The smartphone sensors are used to measure the user's motion dynamics information (MDI), which represent the spatial correlation of various locations. Two algorithms based on hidden Markov model (HMM) problems, the grid-based filter and the Viterbi algorithm, are used in this paper as the central processor for data fusion to resolve the position estimates, and these algorithms are applicable for different applications, e.g., real-time navigation and location tracking, respectively. HIPE is more widely applicable for various motion scenarios than solutions proposed in previous studies because it uses no deterministic motion models, which have been commonly used in previous works. The experimental results showed that HIPE can provide adequate positioning accuracy and robustness for different scenarios of MDI combinations. HIPE is a cost-efficient solution, and it can work flexibly with different smartphone platforms, which may have different types of sensors available for the measurement of MDI data. The reliability of the positioning solution was found to increase with increasing precision of the MDI data.

A plastic surgeon's guide to applying smartphone technology in patient care.

PubMed

Workman, Adrienne D; Gupta, Subhas C

2013-02-01

The vast array of information technology available to plastic surgeons continues to expand. With the recent introduction of smartphone application ("app") technology to the market, the potential for incorporating both social media and app technology into daily practice exists. The authors describe and evaluate the smartphone applications most pertinent to plastic surgery. Smartphone apps from all available markets were analyzed for various factors, including popularity among general consumers, ease of use, and functionality. Using various advertising guidelines from plastic surgery societies as well as the US Food and Drug Administration, each app's content was further analyzed within the context of ethical obligations. The apps with the highest number of ratings were those offering the option to upload photos and morph each photo according to the user's own preference. The title of apps also appears to play a role in popularity. A majority of apps demonstrated the same features available on websites. The applicability of social media marketing via smartphone apps has the potential to change future patient-surgeon interactions by offering more personalized and user-friendly encounters. The role of smartphone apps is important to the future of plastic surgery as long as plastic surgeons maintain an active role in the development of these apps to ensure their value.

Comparing the Self-Report and Measured Smartphone Usage of College Students: A Pilot Study

PubMed Central

Lee, Heyoung; Nguyen, Trung Giang; Choi, Sam-Wook; Kim, Dae Jin

2017-01-01

Objective Nowadays smartphone overuse has become a social and medical concern. For the diagnosis and treatment, clinicians use the self-report information, but the report data often does not match actual usage pattern. The paper examines the similarity and variance in smartphone usage patterns between the measured data and self-reported data. Methods Together with the self-reported data, the real usage log data is collected from 35 college students in a metropolitan region of Northeast Asia, using Android smartphone monitoring application developed by the authors. Results The unconscious users underestimate their usage time by 40%, in spite of 15% more use in the actual usage. Messengers are most-used application regardless of their self-report, and significant preference to SNS applications was observed in addict group. The actual hourly pattern is consistent with the reported one. College students use more in the afternoon, when they have more free time and cannot use PCs. No significant difference in hourly pattern is observed between the measured and self-report. Conclusion The result shows there are significant cognitive bias in actual usage patterns exists in self report of smartphone addictions. Clinicians are recommended to utilize measurement tools in diagnosis and treatment of smartphone overusing subjects. PMID:28326119

Development of a network RTK positioning and gravity-surveying application with gravity correction using a smartphone.

PubMed

Kim, Jinsoo; Lee, Youngcheol; Cha, Sungyeoul; Choi, Chuluong; Lee, Seongkyu

2013-07-12

This paper proposes a smartphone-based network real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning and gravity-surveying application (app) that allows semi-real-time measurements using the built-in Bluetooth features of the smartphone and a third-generation or long-term evolution wireless device. The app was implemented on a single smartphone by integrating a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) controller, a laptop, and a field-note writing tool. The observation devices (i.e., a GNSS receiver and relative gravimeter) functioned independently of this system. The app included a gravity module, which converted the measured relative gravity reading into an absolute gravity value according to tides; meter height; instrument drift correction; and network adjustments. The semi-real-time features of this app allowed data to be shared easily with other researchers. Moreover, the proposed smartphone-based gravity-survey app was easily adaptable to various locations and rough terrain due to its compact size.

Smartphone Spectrometers

PubMed Central

Willmott, Jon R.; Mims, Forrest M.; Parisi, Alfio V.

2018-01-01

Smartphones are playing an increasing role in the sciences, owing to the ubiquitous proliferation of these devices, their relatively low cost, increasing processing power and their suitability for integrated data acquisition and processing in a ‘lab in a phone’ capacity. There is furthermore the potential to deploy these units as nodes within Internet of Things architectures, enabling massive networked data capture. Hitherto, considerable attention has been focused on imaging applications of these devices. However, within just the last few years, another possibility has emerged: to use smartphones as a means of capturing spectra, mostly by coupling various classes of fore-optics to these units with data capture achieved using the smartphone camera. These highly novel approaches have the potential to become widely adopted across a broad range of scientific e.g., biomedical, chemical and agricultural application areas. In this review, we detail the exciting recent development of smartphone spectrometer hardware, in addition to covering applications to which these units have been deployed, hitherto. The paper also points forward to the potentially highly influential impacts that such units could have on the sciences in the coming decades. PMID:29342899

Impact of Smartphone Applications on Timing of Endovascular Therapy for Ischemic Stroke: A Preliminary Study.

PubMed

Alotaibi, Naif M; Sarzetto, Francesca; Guha, Daipayan; Lu, Michael; Bodo, Andre; Gupta, Shaurya; Dyer, Erin; Howard, Peter; da Costa, Leodante; Swartz, Richard H; Boyle, Karl; Nathens, Avery B; Yang, Victor X D

2017-11-01

The metrics of imaging-to-puncture and imaging-to-reperfusion were recently found to be associated with the clinical outcomes of endovascular thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke. However, measures for improving workflow within hospitals to achieve better timing results are largely unexplored for endovascular therapy. The aim of this study was to examine our experience with a novel smartphone application developed in house to improve our timing metrics for endovascular treatment. We developed an encrypted smartphone application connecting all stroke team members to expedite conversations and to provide synchronized real-time updates on the time window from stroke onset to imaging and to puncture. The effects of the application on the timing of endovascular therapy were evaluated with a secondary analysis of our single-center cohort. Our primary outcome was imaging-to-puncture time. We assessed the outcomes with nonparametric tests of statistical significance. Forty-five patients met our criteria for analysis among 66 consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke who received endovascular therapy at our institution. After the implementation of the smartphone application, imaging-to-puncture time was significantly reduced (preapplication median time, 127 minutes; postapplication time, 69 minutes; P < 0.001). Puncture-to-reperfusion time was not affected by the application use (42 minutes vs. 36 minutes). The use of smartphone applications may reduce treatment times for endovascular therapy in acute ischemic stroke. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Mindfulness for Novice Pediatric Nurses: Smartphone Application Versus Traditional Intervention.

PubMed

Morrison Wylde, Chelsey; Mahrer, Nicole E; Meyer, Rika M L; Gold, Jeffrey I

The current study compares the effects of a traditionally delivered mindfulness (TDM) intervention to a smartphone delivered mindfulness (SDM) intervention, Headspace, an audio-guided mindfulness meditation program, in a group of novice nurses. Novice nurses participating in a pediatric nurse residency program were asked to participate in either a TDM or SDM intervention. Participants (N=95) completed self-administered pencil and paper questionnaires measuring mindfulness skills, and risk and protective factors at the start of their residency and three months after entering the program. Nurses in the SDM group reported significantly more "acting with awareness" and marginally more "non-reactivity to inner experience" skills compared to the TDM group. The smartphone intervention group also showed marginally more compassion satisfaction and marginally less burnout. Additionally, nurses in the SDM group had lower risk for compassion fatigue compared to the TDM group, but only when the nurses had sub-clinical posttraumatic symptoms at the start of the residency training program. Smartphone delivered mindfulness interventions may provide more benefits for novice nurses than traditionally delivered mindfulness interventions. However, the smart-phone intervention may be better indicated for nurses without existing symptoms of posttraumatic stress. Mindfulness interventions delivered through smartphone applications show promise in equipping nurses with important coping skills to manage stress. Because of the accessibility of smartphone applications, more nurses can benefit from the intervention as compared to a therapist delivered intervention. However, nurses with existing stress symptoms may require alternate interventions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Smartphone in Medicine: A Review of Current and Potential Use Among Physicians and Students

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Advancements in technology have always had major impacts in medicine. The smartphone is one of the most ubiquitous and dynamic trends in communication, in which one’s mobile phone can also be used for communicating via email, performing Internet searches, and using specific applications. The smartphone is one of the fastest growing sectors in the technology industry, and its impact in medicine has already been significant. Objective To provide a comprehensive and up-to-date summary of the role of the smartphone in medicine by highlighting the ways in which it can enhance continuing medical education, patient care, and communication. We also examine the evidence base for this technology. Methods We conducted a review of all published uses of the smartphone that could be applicable to the field of medicine and medical education with the exclusion of only surgical-related uses. Results In the 60 studies that were identified, we found many uses for the smartphone in medicine; however, we also found that very few high-quality studies exist to help us understand how best to use this technology. Conclusions While the smartphone’s role in medicine and education appears promising and exciting, more high-quality studies are needed to better understand the role it will have in this field. We recommend popular smartphone applications for physicians that are lacking in evidence and discuss future studies to support their use. PMID:23017375

An Analysis of Security System for Intrusion in Smartphone Environment

PubMed Central

Louk, Maya; Lim, Hyotaek; Lee, HoonJae

2014-01-01

There are many malware applications in Smartphone. Smartphone's users may become unaware if their data has been recorded and stolen by intruders via malware. Smartphone—whether for business or personal use—may not be protected from malwares. Thus, monitoring, detecting, tracking, and notification (MDTN) have become the main purpose of the writing of this paper. MDTN is meant to enable Smartphone to prevent and reduce the number of cybercrimes. The methods are shown to be effective in protecting Smartphone and isolating malware and sending warning in the form of notification to the user about the danger in progress. In particular, (a) MDTN process is possible and will be enabled for Smartphone environment. (b) The methods are shown to be an advanced security for private sensitive data of the Smartphone user. PMID:25165754

A review of current sleep screening applications for smartphones.

PubMed

Behar, Joachim; Roebuck, Aoife; Domingos, João S; Gederi, Elnaz; Clifford, Gari D

2013-07-01

Sleep disorders are a common problem and contribute to a wide range of healthcare issues. The societal and financial costs of sleep disorders are enormous. Sleep-related disorders are often diagnosed with an overnight sleep test called a polysomnogram, or sleep study involving the measurement of brain activity through the electroencephalogram. Other parameters monitored include oxygen saturation, respiratory effort, cardiac activity (through the electrocardiogram), as well as video recording, sound and movement activity. Monitoring can be costly and removes the patients from their normal sleeping environment, preventing repeated unbiased studies. The recent increase in adoption of smartphones, with high quality on-board sensors has led to the proliferation of many sleep screening applications running on the phone. However, with the exception of simple questionnaires, no existing sleep-related application available for smartphones is based on scientific evidence. This paper reviews the existing smartphone applications landscape used in the field of sleep disorders and proposes possible advances to improve screening approaches.

Developing a Value of Information (VoI) Enabled System from Collection to Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-11-01

Information, Android, smartphone , information dissemination, visual analytic 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF...List of Figures Fig. 1 Spot report main screen .........................................................................2 Fig. 2 Smartphone app...included the creation of 2 Android smartphone applications (apps) and the enhancement of an existing tool (Contour). Prior work with Android

Visual Positioning Indoors: Human Eyes vs. Smartphone Cameras

PubMed Central

Wu, Dewen; Chen, Ruizhi; Chen, Liang

2017-01-01

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies and their related applications are now developing at a rapid pace. Indoor positioning will be one of the core technologies that enable AI applications because people spend 80% of their time indoors. Humans can locate themselves related to a visually well-defined object, e.g., a door, based on their visual observations. Can a smartphone camera do a similar job when it points to an object? In this paper, a visual positioning solution was developed based on a single image captured from a smartphone camera pointing to a well-defined object. The smartphone camera simulates the process of human eyes for the purpose of relatively locating themselves against a well-defined object. Extensive experiments were conducted with five types of smartphones on three different indoor settings, including a meeting room, a library, and a reading room. Experimental results shown that the average positioning accuracy of the solution based on five smartphone cameras is 30.6 cm, while that for the human-observed solution with 300 samples from 10 different people is 73.1 cm. PMID:29144420

Visual Positioning Indoors: Human Eyes vs. Smartphone Cameras.

PubMed

Wu, Dewen; Chen, Ruizhi; Chen, Liang

2017-11-16

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies and their related applications are now developing at a rapid pace. Indoor positioning will be one of the core technologies that enable AI applications because people spend 80% of their time indoors. Humans can locate themselves related to a visually well-defined object, e.g., a door, based on their visual observations. Can a smartphone camera do a similar job when it points to an object? In this paper, a visual positioning solution was developed based on a single image captured from a smartphone camera pointing to a well-defined object. The smartphone camera simulates the process of human eyes for the purpose of relatively locating themselves against a well-defined object. Extensive experiments were conducted with five types of smartphones on three different indoor settings, including a meeting room, a library, and a reading room. Experimental results shown that the average positioning accuracy of the solution based on five smartphone cameras is 30.6 cm, while that for the human-observed solution with 300 samples from 10 different people is 73.1 cm.

Accurate Ambient Noise Assessment Using Smartphones

PubMed Central

Zamora, Willian; Calafate, Carlos T.; Cano, Juan-Carlos; Manzoni, Pietro

2017-01-01

Nowadays, smartphones have become ubiquitous and one of the main communication resources for human beings. Their widespread adoption was due to the huge technological progress and to the development of multiple useful applications. Their characteristics have also experienced a substantial improvement as they now integrate multiple sensors able to convert the smartphone into a flexible and multi-purpose sensing unit. The combined use of multiple smartphones endowed with several types of sensors gives the possibility to monitor a certain area with fine spatial and temporal granularity, a procedure typically known as crowdsensing. In this paper, we propose using smartphones as environmental noise-sensing units. For this purpose, we focus our study on the sound capture and processing procedure, analyzing the impact of different noise calculation algorithms, as well as in determining their accuracy when compared to a professional noise measurement unit. We analyze different candidate algorithms using different types of smartphones, and we study the most adequate time period and sampling strategy to optimize the data-gathering process. In addition, we perform an experimental study comparing our approach with the results obtained using a professional device. Experimental results show that, if the smartphone application is well tuned, it is possible to measure noise levels with a accuracy degree comparable to professional devices for the entire dynamic range typically supported by microphones embedded in smartphones, i.e., 35–95 dB. PMID:28430126

Randomized, controlled pilot trial of a smartphone app for smoking cessation using acceptance and commitment therapy.

PubMed

Bricker, Jonathan B; Mull, Kristin E; Kientz, Julie A; Vilardaga, Roger; Mercer, Laina D; Akioka, Katrina J; Heffner, Jaimee L

2014-10-01

There is a dual need for (1) innovative theory-based smartphone applications for smoking cessation and (2) controlled trials to evaluate their efficacy. Accordingly, this study tested the feasibility, acceptability, preliminary efficacy, and mechanism of behavioral change of an innovative smartphone-delivered acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) application for smoking cessation vs. an application following US Clinical Practice Guidelines. Adult participants were recruited nationally into the double-blind randomized controlled pilot trial (n=196) that compared smartphone-delivered ACT for smoking cessation application (SmartQuit) with the National Cancer Institute's application for smoking cessation (QuitGuide). We recruited 196 participants in two months. SmartQuit participants opened their application an average of 37.2 times, as compared to 15.2 times for QuitGuide participants (p<0001). The overall quit rates were 13% in SmartQuit vs. 8% in QuitGuide (OR=2.7; 95% CI=0.8-10.3). Consistent with ACT's theory of change, among those scoring low (below the median) on acceptance of cravings at baseline (n=88), the quit rates were 15% in SmartQuit vs. 8% in QuitGuide (OR=2.9; 95% CI=0.6-20.7). ACT is feasible to deliver by smartphone application and shows higher engagement and promising quit rates compared to an application that follows US Clinical Practice Guidelines. As results were limited by the pilot design (e.g., small sample), a full-scale efficacy trial is now needed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Smartphone and Curriculum Opportunities for College Faculty

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Migdalski, Scott T.

2017-01-01

The ever-increasing popularity of the smartphone continues to impact many professions. Physicians use the device for medication dosing, professional drivers use the GPS application, mariners use the navigation maps, builders use materials-estimator applications, property appraisers use the camera capability, and students use the device to search…

Smartphone application for rheumatoid arthritis self-management: cross-sectional study revealed the usefulness, willingness to use and patients' needs.

PubMed

Azevedo, Rita; Bernardes, Miguel; Fonseca, João; Lima, Aurea

2015-10-01

Patient-centered smartphone applications have potential to support rheumatoid arthritis (RA) self-management but remain almost unexplored in literature. Therefore, this study evaluated the usefulness of a smartphone application to support RA self-management, the willingness of RA patients to use and pay for it and the features the application should have. In this cross-sectional study, a questionnaire was developed to collect information on population, device ownership, usefulness and willingness to use and pay for a RA self-management application and application features. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square, Fisher's exact test, t test or Mann-Whitney's test and multivariate analysis were used. One hundred RA patients answered the questionnaire. Patients' mean age was 57 ± 11.9 years, most were females (91 %), with multiple drug regimens and a 40 % treatment non-compliance rate. Most patients believed that could have a more active role in self-management (94 %) and reported it would be useful to develop a RA self-management application (86 %). Patients willing to use an application (83 %) were younger, with a possible more active role in self-management, with access to a smartphone, and using short message service, electronic mail and Internet. Multivariate analysis confirmed these results, except the associations regarding access to a smartphone and use of electronic mail and Internet. Fifty-eight patients (82 %) were willing to pay for a RA self-management application and the most requested feature for it was information in a simple format. This study suggested the usefulness and patients' willingness to use and pay for a RA self-management application and provided insight on patients' needs.

The Use of Smartphones in Norwegian Social Care Services.

PubMed

Hansen, Linda Iren Mihaila; Fruhling, Ann; Fossum, Mariann

2016-01-01

This study aims to understand how smartphone technology was perceived by social workers responsible for piloting social services software and the experiences of involving end-users as co-developers. The pilot resulted in an improved match between the smartphone software and workflow as well as mutual learning experiences among the social workers, clients, and the vendor. The pilot study revealed several graphical user interface (GUI) and functionality challenges. Implementing an ICT social service smartphone application may further improve efficiencies for social workers serving citizens, however; this study validates the importance to study end-users' experiences with communication and the real-time use of the system in order reap the anticipated benefits of ICT capabilities for smart phone social service applications.

Crowdsourcing urban air temperatures from smartphone battery temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Overeem, A.; Robinson, J. C. R.; Leijnse, H.; Steeneveld, G. J.; Horn, B. K. P.; Uijlenhoet, R.

2013-08-01

Accurate air temperature observations in urban areas are important for meteorology and energy demand planning. They are indispensable to study the urban heat island effect and the adverse effects of high temperatures on human health. However, the availability of temperature observations in cities is often limited. Here we show that relatively accurate air temperature information for the urban canopy layer can be obtained from an alternative, nowadays omnipresent source: smartphones. In this study, battery temperatures were collected by an Android application for smartphones. A straightforward heat transfer model is employed to estimate daily mean air temperatures from smartphone battery temperatures for eight major cities around the world. The results demonstrate the enormous potential of this crowdsourcing application for real-time temperature monitoring in densely populated areas.

Reception of Japanese Captions: A Comparative Study of Visual Attention between Native Speakers and Language Learners of Japanese

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sikkema, Eline C.

2017-01-01

Nowadays, television programmes are not only accessed through a conventional TV set; they can be viewed through streaming services on the internet, smartphones, and tablets to name but a few media. For language learners, this development has opened up opportunities for accessing authentic materials in foreign languages outside of the classroom.…

Increasing self-regulatory energy using an Internet-based training application delivered by smartphone technology.

PubMed

Cranwell, Jo; Benford, Steve; Houghton, Robert J; Golembewski, Michael; Golembewksi, Michael; Fischer, Joel E; Hagger, Martin S

2014-03-01

Self-control resources can be defined in terms of "energy." Repeated attempts to override desires and impulses can result in a state of reduced self-control energy termed "ego depletion" leading to a reduced capacity to regulate future self-control behaviors effectively. Regular practice or "training" on self-control tasks may improve an individual's capacity to overcome ego depletion effectively. The current research tested the effectiveness of training using a novel Internet-based smartphone application to improve self-control and reduce ego depletion. In two experiments, participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental group, which received a daily program of self-control training using a modified Stroop-task Internet-based application delivered via smartphone to participants over a 4-week period, or a no-training control group. Participants assigned to the experimental group performed significantly better on post-training laboratory self-control tasks relative to participants in the control group. Findings support the hypothesized training effect on self-control and highlight the effectiveness of a novel Internet-based application delivered by smartphone as a practical means to administer and monitor a self-control training program. The smartphone training application has considerable advantages over other means to train self-control adopted in previous studies in that it has increased ecological validity and enables effective monitoring of compliance with the training program.

Increasing Self-Regulatory Energy Using an Internet-Based Training Application Delivered by Smartphone Technology

PubMed Central

Benford, Steve; Houghton, Robert J.; Golembewksi, Michael; Fischer, Joel E.; Hagger, Martin S.

2014-01-01

Abstract Self-control resources can be defined in terms of “energy.” Repeated attempts to override desires and impulses can result in a state of reduced self-control energy termed “ego depletion” leading to a reduced capacity to regulate future self-control behaviors effectively. Regular practice or “training” on self-control tasks may improve an individual's capacity to overcome ego depletion effectively. The current research tested the effectiveness of training using a novel Internet-based smartphone application to improve self-control and reduce ego depletion. In two experiments, participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental group, which received a daily program of self-control training using a modified Stroop-task Internet-based application delivered via smartphone to participants over a 4-week period, or a no-training control group. Participants assigned to the experimental group performed significantly better on post-training laboratory self-control tasks relative to participants in the control group. Findings support the hypothesized training effect on self-control and highlight the effectiveness of a novel Internet-based application delivered by smartphone as a practical means to administer and monitor a self-control training program. The smartphone training application has considerable advantages over other means to train self-control adopted in previous studies in that it has increased ecological validity and enables effective monitoring of compliance with the training program. PMID:24015984

Design and Evaluation of Dedicated Smartphone Applications for Collaborative Science Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fertitta, John A., Jr.

2011-12-01

Over the past several years, the use of scientific probes is becoming more common in science classrooms. The goal of teaching with these science probes is to engage students in inquiry-based learning. However, they are often complicated and stationary, forcing experiments to remain in the classroom and limiting their use. The Internet System for Networked Sensor Experimentation (iSENSE) was created to address these limitations. iSENSE is a web-system for storing and visualizing sensor data. The project also includes a hardware package, the PINPoint, that interfaces to existing probes, and acts as a probe itself. As the mobile phone industry continues to advance, we are beginning to see smartphones that are just as powerful, if not more powerful, than many desktop computers. These devices are often equipped with advanced sensors, making them as capable as some science probes at a lower cost. With this background, this thesis explores the use of smartphones in secondary school science classrooms. By collaborating with one teacher, three custom applications were developed for four separate curriculum-based learning activities. The smartphones replaced existing traditional tools and science probes. Some data collected with the smartphones were uploaded to the iSENSE web-system for analysis. Student use of the smartphones and the subsequent scientific visualizations using the iSENSE web-system were observed. A teacher interview was conducted afterward. It was found that a collaborative design process involving the teacher resulted in the successful integration of smartphone applications into learning activities. In one case, the smartphones and use of iSENSE did not improve the students' understanding of the learning objectives. In several others, however, the smartphones out-performed traditional probeware as a data collector, and with the classroom teachers guidance, the iSENSE web-system facilitated more in-depth discussions of the data.

Smartphone Magnification Attachment: Microscope or Magnifying Glass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hergemöller, Timo; Laumann, Daniel

2017-09-01

Today smartphones and tablets do not merely pervade our daily life, but also play a major role in STEM education in general, and in experimental investigations in particular. Enabling teachers and students to make use of these new techniques in physics lessons requires supplying capable and affordable applications. Our article presents the improvement of a low-cost technique turning smartphones into powerful magnifying glasses or microscopes. Adding only a 3D-printed clip attached to the smartphone's camera and inserting a small glass bead in this clip enables smartphones to take pictures with up to 780x magnification (see Fig. 1). In addition, the construction of the smartphone attachments helps to explain and examine the differences between magnifying glasses and microscopes, and shows that the widespread term "smartphone microscope" for this technique is inaccurate from a physics educational perspective.

Virtual Physics Laboratory Application Based on the Android Smartphone to Improve Learning Independence and Conceptual Understanding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arista, Fitra Suci; Kuswanto, Heru

2018-01-01

The research study concerned here was to: (1) produce a virtual physics laboratory application to be called ViPhyLab by using the Android smartphone as basis; (2) determine the appropriateness and quality of the virtual physics laboratory application that had been developed; and (3) describe the improvement in learning independence and conceptual…

Smartphone measurement engineering - Innovative challenges for science & education, instrumentation & training

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hofmann, D.; Dittrich, P.-G.; Duentsch, E.

2010-07-01

Smartphones have an enormous conceptual and structural influence on measurement science & education, instrumentation & training. Smartphones are matured. They became convenient, reliable and affordable. In 2009 worldwide 174 million Smartphones has been delivered. Measurement with Smartphones is ready for the future. In only 10 years the German vision industry tripled its global sales volume to one Billion Euro/Year. Machine vision is used for mobile object identification, contactless industrial quality control, personalized health care, remote facility and transport management, safety critical surveillance and all tasks which are too complex for the human eye or too monotonous for the human brain. Aim of the paper is to describe selected success stories for the application of Smartphones for measurement engineering in science and education, instrumentation and training.

Development of a Smartphone-based reading system for lateral flow immunoassay.

PubMed

Lee, Sangdae; Kim, Giyoung; Moon, Jihea

2014-11-01

This study was conducted to develop and evaluate the performance of the Smartphone-based reading system for the lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA). Smartphone-based reading system consists of a Samsung Galaxy S2 Smartphone, Smartphone application, and a LFIA reader. LFIA reader is composed of the close-up lens with a focal length up to 30 mm, white LED light, lithium polymer battery, and main body. The Smartphone application for image acquisition and data analysis was developed on the Android platform. The standard curve was obtained by plotting the measured P(T)/P(c) or A(T)/A(c) ratio versus Salmonella standard concentration. The mean, standard deviation (SD), recovery, and relative standard deviation (RSD) were also calculated using additional experimental results. These data were compared with that obtained from the benchtop LFIA reader. The LOD in both systems was observed with 10(6) CFU/mL. The results show high accuracy and good reproducibility with a RSD less than 10% in the range of 10(6) to 10(9) CFU/mL. Due to the simple structure, good sensitivity, and high accuracy of the Smartphone-based reading system, this system can be substituted for the benchtop LFIA reader for point-of-care medical diagnostics.

Autofluorescence imaging of basal cell carcinoma by smartphone RGB camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lihachev, Alexey; Derjabo, Alexander; Ferulova, Inesa; Lange, Marta; Lihacova, Ilze; Spigulis, Janis

2015-12-01

The feasibility of smartphones for in vivo skin autofluorescence imaging has been investigated. Filtered autofluorescence images from the same tissue area were periodically captured by a smartphone RGB camera with subsequent detection of fluorescence intensity decreasing at each image pixel for further imaging the planar distribution of those values. The proposed methodology was tested clinically with 13 basal cell carcinoma and 1 atypical nevus. Several clinical cases and potential future applications of the smartphone-based technique are discussed.

Autofluorescence imaging of basal cell carcinoma by smartphone RGB camera.

PubMed

Lihachev, Alexey; Derjabo, Alexander; Ferulova, Inesa; Lange, Marta; Lihacova, Ilze; Spigulis, Janis

2015-01-01

The feasibility of smartphones for in vivo skin autofluorescence imaging has been investigated. Filtered autofluorescence images from the same tissue area were periodically captured by a smartphone RGB camera with subsequent detection of fluorescence intensity decreasing at each image pixel for further imaging the planar distribution of those values. The proposed methodology was tested clinically with 13 basal cell carcinoma and 1 atypical nevus. Several clinical cases and potential future applications of the smartphone-based technique are discussed.

Efficacy of gamification-based smartphone application for weight loss in overweight and obese adolescents: study protocol for a phase II randomized controlled trial

PubMed Central

Timpel, Patrick; Cesena, Fernando Henpin Yue; da Silva Costa, Christiane; Soldatelli, Matheus Dorigatti; Gois, Emanuel; Castrillon, Eduardo; Díaz, Lina Johana Jaime; Repetto, Gabriela M.; Hagos, Fanah; Castillo Yermenos, Raul E.; Pacheco-Barrios, Kevin; Musallam, Wafaa; Braid, Zilda; Khidir, Nesreen; Romo Guardado, Marcela; Roepke, Roberta Muriel Longo

2018-01-01

Background: Overweight and obesity are significant public health concerns that are prevalent in younger age cohorts. Preventive or therapeutic interventions are difficult to implement and maintain over time. On the other hand, the majority of adolescents in the United States have a smartphone, representing a huge potential for innovative digitized interventions, such as weight loss programs delivered via smartphone applications. Although the number of available smartphone applications is increasing, evidence for their effectiveness in weight loss is insufficient. Therefore, the proposed study aims to assess the efficacy of a gamification-based smartphone application for weight loss in overweight and obese adolescents. The trial is designed to be a phase II, single-centre, two-arm, triple-blinded, randomized controlled trial (RCT) with a duration of 6 months. Method: The intervention consists of a smartphone application that provides both tracking and gamification elements, while the control arm consists of an identically designed application solely with tracking features of health information. The proposed trial will be conducted in an urban primary care clinic of an academic centre in the United States of America, with expertise in the management of overweight and obese adolescents. Eligible adolescents will be followed for 6 months. Changes in body mass index z score from baseline to 6 months will be the primary outcome. Secondary objectives will explore the effects of the gamification-based application on adherence, as well as anthropometric, metabolic and behavioural changes. A required sample size of 108 participants (54 participants per group) was calculated. Discussion: The benefits of the proposed study include mid-term effects in weight reduction for overweight and obese adolescents. The current proposal will contribute to fill a gap in the literature on the mid-term effects of gamification-based interventions to control weight in adolescents. This trial is a well-designed RCT that is in line with the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials statement. PMID:29854386

Efficacy of gamification-based smartphone application for weight loss in overweight and obese adolescents: study protocol for a phase II randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Timpel, Patrick; Cesena, Fernando Henpin Yue; da Silva Costa, Christiane; Soldatelli, Matheus Dorigatti; Gois, Emanuel; Castrillon, Eduardo; Díaz, Lina Johana Jaime; Repetto, Gabriela M; Hagos, Fanah; Castillo Yermenos, Raul E; Pacheco-Barrios, Kevin; Musallam, Wafaa; Braid, Zilda; Khidir, Nesreen; Romo Guardado, Marcela; Roepke, Roberta Muriel Longo

2018-06-01

Overweight and obesity are significant public health concerns that are prevalent in younger age cohorts. Preventive or therapeutic interventions are difficult to implement and maintain over time. On the other hand, the majority of adolescents in the United States have a smartphone, representing a huge potential for innovative digitized interventions, such as weight loss programs delivered via smartphone applications. Although the number of available smartphone applications is increasing, evidence for their effectiveness in weight loss is insufficient. Therefore, the proposed study aims to assess the efficacy of a gamification-based smartphone application for weight loss in overweight and obese adolescents. The trial is designed to be a phase II, single-centre, two-arm, triple-blinded, randomized controlled trial (RCT) with a duration of 6 months. The intervention consists of a smartphone application that provides both tracking and gamification elements, while the control arm consists of an identically designed application solely with tracking features of health information. The proposed trial will be conducted in an urban primary care clinic of an academic centre in the United States of America, with expertise in the management of overweight and obese adolescents. Eligible adolescents will be followed for 6 months. Changes in body mass index z score from baseline to 6 months will be the primary outcome. Secondary objectives will explore the effects of the gamification-based application on adherence, as well as anthropometric, metabolic and behavioural changes. A required sample size of 108 participants (54 participants per group) was calculated. The benefits of the proposed study include mid-term effects in weight reduction for overweight and obese adolescents. The current proposal will contribute to fill a gap in the literature on the mid-term effects of gamification-based interventions to control weight in adolescents. This trial is a well-designed RCT that is in line with the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials statement.

Finding the Average Speed of a Light-Emitting Toy Car with a Smartphone Light Sensor

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kapucu, Serkan

2017-01-01

This study aims to demonstrate how the average speed of a light-emitting toy car may be determined using a smartphone's light sensor. The freely available Android smartphone application, "AndroSensor," was used for the experiment. The classroom experiment combines complementary physics knowledge of optics and kinematics to find the…

77 FR 2306 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request, Disaster...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-17

... Papel/Registro Para Asistencia De Desastre; FEMA Form 009-0-1S (English) Smartphone, Disaster Assistance Registration; FEMA Form 009-0-2S (Spanish) Smartphone, Registro Para Asistencia De Desastre; FEMA Form 009-0-3...), FEMA Forms 009-0-1 and 009-0-2, 18 minutes; Smartphone Application for Disaster Assistance, FEMA Forms...

Monitoring healthy and disturbed sleep through smartphone applications: a review of experimental evidence.

PubMed

Fino, Edita; Mazzetti, Michela

2018-04-23

Smartphone applications are considered as the prime candidate for the purposes of large-scale, low-cost and long-term sleep monitoring. How reliable and scientifically grounded is smartphone-based assessment of healthy and disturbed sleep remains a key issue in this direction. Here we offer a review of validation studies of sleep applications to the aim of providing some guidance in terms of their reliability to assess sleep in healthy and clinical populations, and stimulating further examination of their potential for clinical use and improved sleep hygiene. Electronic literature review was conducted on Pubmed. Eleven validation studies published since 2012 were identified, evaluating smartphone applications' performance compared to standard methods of sleep assessment in healthy and clinical samples. Studies with healthy populations show that most sleep applications meet or exceed accuracy levels of wrist-based actigraphy in sleep-wake cycle discrimination, whereas performance levels drop in individuals with low sleep efficiency (SE) and in clinical populations, mirroring actigraphy results. Poor correlation with polysomnography (PSG) sleep sub-stages is reported by most accelerometer-based apps. However, multiple parameter-based applications (i.e., EarlySense, SleepAp) showed good capability in detection of sleep-wake stages and sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBD) like obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) respectively with values similar to PSG. While the reviewed evidence suggests a potential role of smartphone sleep applications in pre-screening of SRBD, more experimental studies are warranted to assess their reliability in sleep-wake detection particularly. Apps' utility in post treatment follow-up at home or as an adjunct to the sleep diary in clinical setting is also stressed.

The uses of the smartphone for doctors: an empirical study from samsung medical center.

PubMed

Choi, Jong Soo; Yi, Byoungkee; Park, Jong Hwan; Choi, Kyesook; Jung, Jaegon; Park, Seung Woo; Rhee, Poong-Lyul

2011-06-01

In healthcare, mobile computing made possible by smartphones is becoming an important tool among healthcare professionals. However, currently there is very little research into the effectiveness of such applications of technology. This study aims to present a framework for a smartphone application to give doctors mobile access to patient information, then review the consequences of its use and discuss its future direction. Since 2003 when Samsung Medical Center introduced its first mobile application, a need to develop a new application targeting the latest smartphone technology was identified. To that end, an application named Dr. SMART S was officially launched on December 22nd, 2010. We analyzed the usage data of the application for a month until April 25th, 2011. On average, 170 doctors (13% of the entire body of doctors) logged on 2.4 times per day and that number keeps growing. The number was uniformly distributed across all working hours, with exceptions of heavy accesses around 6-8 AM and 4-6 PM when doctors do their regular rounds to see the patients. The most commonly accessed content was inpatient information, this constituted 78.6% of all accesses, within this 50% was to accesses lab results. Looking at the usage data, we can see the use of Dr. SMART S by doctors is growing in sync with the popularity of smartphones. Since u-Health seem an inevitable future trend, a more rigorous study needs to be conducted on how such mobile applications as Dr. SMART S affect the quality of care and patient safety to derive directions for further improvements.

A Hybrid Smartphone Indoor Positioning Solution for Mobile LBS

PubMed Central

Liu, Jingbin; Chen, Ruizhi; Pei, Ling; Guinness, Robert; Kuusniemi, Heidi

2012-01-01

Smartphone positioning is an enabling technology used to create new business in the navigation and mobile location-based services (LBS) industries. This paper presents a smartphone indoor positioning engine named HIPE that can be easily integrated with mobile LBS. HIPE is a hybrid solution that fuses measurements of smartphone sensors with wireless signals. The smartphone sensors are used to measure the user’s motion dynamics information (MDI), which represent the spatial correlation of various locations. Two algorithms based on hidden Markov model (HMM) problems, the grid-based filter and the Viterbi algorithm, are used in this paper as the central processor for data fusion to resolve the position estimates, and these algorithms are applicable for different applications, e.g., real-time navigation and location tracking, respectively. HIPE is more widely applicable for various motion scenarios than solutions proposed in previous studies because it uses no deterministic motion models, which have been commonly used in previous works. The experimental results showed that HIPE can provide adequate positioning accuracy and robustness for different scenarios of MDI combinations. HIPE is a cost-efficient solution, and it can work flexibly with different smartphone platforms, which may have different types of sensors available for the measurement of MDI data. The reliability of the positioning solution was found to increase with increasing precision of the MDI data. PMID:23235455

Distraction: an assessment of smartphone usage in health care work settings

PubMed Central

Gill, Preetinder S; Kamath, Ashwini; Gill, Tejkaran S

2012-01-01

Smartphone use in health care work settings presents both opportunities and challenges. The benefits could be severely undermined if abuse and overuse are not kept in check. This practice-focused research paper examines the current panorama of health software applications. Findings from existing research are consolidated to elucidate the level and effects of distraction in health care work settings due to smartphone use. A conceptual framework for crafting guidelines to regulate the use of smartphones in health care work settings is then presented. Finally, specific guidelines are delineated to assist in creating policies for the use of smartphones in a health care workplace. PMID:22969308

Gender differences in factors associated with smartphone addiction: a cross-sectional study among medical college students.

PubMed

Chen, Baifeng; Liu, Fei; Ding, Shushu; Ying, Xia; Wang, Lele; Wen, Yufeng

2017-10-10

Smartphones are becoming increasingly indispensable in everyday life for most undergraduates in China, and this has been associated with problematic use or addiction. The aim of the current study was to investigate the prevalence of smartphone addiction and the associated factors in male and female undergraduates. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016 and included 1441 undergraduate students at Wannan Medical College, China. The Smartphone Addiction Scale short version (SAS-SV) was used to assess smartphone addiction among the students, using accepted cut-offs. Participants' demographic, smartphone usage, and psycho-behavioral data were collected. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to seek associations between smartphone addiction and independent variables among the males and females, separately. The prevalence of smartphone addiction among participants was 29.8% (30.3% in males and 29.3% in females). Factors associated with smartphone addiction in male students were use of game apps, anxiety, and poor sleep quality. Significant factors for female undergraduates were use of multimedia applications, use of social networking services, depression, anxiety, and poor sleep quality. Smartphone addiction was common among the medical college students investigated. This study identified associations between smartphone usage, psycho-behavioral factors, and smartphone addiction, and the associations differed between males and females. These results suggest the need for interventions to reduce smartphone addiction among undergraduate students.

Smartphone Applications for the Clinical Oncologist in UK Practice.

PubMed

Rozati, Hamoun; Shah, Sonya Pratik; Shah, Neha

2015-06-01

A number of medical smartphone applications have been developed to assist clinical oncology specialists. Concerns have arisen that the information provided may not be under sufficient scrutiny. This study aims to analyse the current applications available for clinical oncologists in the UK. Applications aimed specifically at physician clinical oncologists were searched for on the major smartphone operating systems: Apple iOS; Google Android; Microsoft Windows OS; and Blackberry OS. All applications were installed and analysed. The applications were scrutinised to assess the following information: cost; whether the information included was referenced; when the information was last updated; and whether they made any reference to UK guidelines. A novel rating score based on these criteria was applied to each application. Fifty applications were identified: 24 for Apple's iOS; 23 for Google's Android; 2 for Blackberry OS; and 1 for Windows OS. The categories of applications available were: drug reference; journal reference; learning; clinical calculators; decision support; guidelines; and dictionaries. Journal reference and guideline applications scored highly on our rating system. Drug reference application costs were prohibitive. Learning tools were poorly referenced and not up-to-date. Smartphones provide easy access to information. There are numerous applications devoted to oncology physicians, many of which are free and contain referenced, up-to-date data. The cost and quality of drug reference and learning applications have significant scope for improvement. A regulatory body is needed to ensure the presence of peer-reviewed, validated applications to ensure their reliability.

Toward smartphone applications for geoparks information and interpretation systems in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Qian; Tian, Mingzhong; Li, Xingle; Shi, Yihua; Zhou, Xu

2015-11-01

Geopark information and interpretation systems are both necessary infrastructure in geopark planning and construction program, and they are also essential for geoeducation and geoconservation in geopark tourism. The current state and development of information and interpretation systems in China's geoparks were presented and analyzed in this paper. Statistics showed that fewer than half of geoparks run websites, and less than that amount maintained database, and less than one percent of all Internet/smartphone applications were used for geopark tourism. The results of our analysis indicated that smartphone applications in geopark information and interpretation systems would provide benefits such as accelerated geopark science popularization and education and facilitated interactive communication between geoparks and tourists.

mHealth for Smoking Cessation Programs: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Ghorai, Koel; Akter, Shahriar; Khatun, Fatema; Ray, Pradeep

2014-07-18

mHealth transforms healthcare delivery around the world due to its affordability and right time availability. It has been used for delivery of various smoking cessation programs and interventions over the past decade. With the proliferation of smartphone usage around the world, many smartphone applications are being developed for curbing smoking among smokers. Various interventions like SMS, progress tracking, distractions, peer chats and others are being provided to users through smartphone applications. This paper presents a systematic review that analyses the applications of mobile phones in smoking cessations. The synthesis of the diverse concepts within the literature on smoking cessations using mobile phones provides deeper insights in the emerging mHealth landscape.

Mobile diagnostics: next-generation technologies for in vitro diagnostics.

PubMed

Shin, Joonchul; Chakravarty, Sudesna; Choi, Wooseok; Lee, Kyungyeon; Han, Dongsik; Hwang, Hyundoo; Choi, Jaekyu; Jung, Hyo-Il

2018-03-26

The emergence of a wide range of applications of smartphones along with advances in 'liquid biopsy' has significantly propelled medical research particularly in the field of in vitro diagnostics (IVD). Herein, we have presented a detailed analysis of IVD, its associated critical concerns and probable solutions. It also demonstrates the transition in terms of analytes from minimally invasive (blood) to non-invasive (urine, saliva and sweat) and depicts how the different features of a smartphone can be integrated for specific diagnostic purposes. This review basically highlights recent advances in the applications of smartphone-based biosensors in IVD taking into account the following factors: accuracy and portability; quantitative and qualitative analysis; and centralization and decentralization tests. Furthermore, the critical concerns and future direction of diagnostics based on smartphones are also discussed.

Acceptability of smartphone application-based HIV prevention among young men who have sex with men.

PubMed

Holloway, Ian W; Rice, Eric; Gibbs, Jeremy; Winetrobe, Hailey; Dunlap, Shannon; Rhoades, Harmony

2014-02-01

Young men who have sex with men (YMSM) are increasingly using mobile smartphone applications ("apps"), such as Grindr, to meet sex partners. A probability sample of 195 Grindr-using YMSM in Southern California were administered an anonymous online survey to assess patterns of and motivations for Grindr use in order to inform development and tailoring of smartphone-based HIV prevention for YMSM. The number one reason for using Grindr (29 %) was to meet "hook ups." Among those participants who used both Grindr and online dating sites, a statistically significantly greater percentage used online dating sites for "hook ups" (42 %) compared to Grindr (30 %). Seventy percent of YMSM expressed a willingness to participate in a smartphone app-based HIV prevention program. Development and testing of smartphone apps for HIV prevention delivery has the potential to engage YMSM in HIV prevention programming, which can be tailored based on use patterns and motivations for use.

Acceptability of Smartphone Application-Based HIV Prevention Among Young Men Who Have Sex With Men

PubMed Central

Holloway, Ian W.; Rice, Eric; Gibbs, Jeremy; Winetrobe, Hailey; Dunlap, Shannon; Rhoades, Harmony

2014-01-01

Young men who have sex with men (YMSM) are increasingly using mobile smartphone applications (“apps”), such as Grindr, to meet sex partners. A probability sample of 195 Grindrusing YMSM in Southern California were administered an anonymous online survey to assess patterns of and motivations for Grindr use in order to inform development and tailoring of smartphone-based HIV prevention for YMSM. The number one reason for using Grindr (29%) was to meet “hook ups.” Among those participants who used both Grindr and online dating sites, a statistically significantly greater percentage used online dating sites for “hook ups” (42%) compared to Grindr (30%). Seventy percent of YMSM expressed a willingness to participate in a smartphone app-based HIV prevention program. Development and testing of smartphone apps for HIV prevention delivery has the potential to engage YMSM in HIV prevention programming, which can be tailored based on use patterns and motivations for use. PMID:24292281

Development of a Network RTK Positioning and Gravity-Surveying Application with Gravity Correction Using a Smartphone

PubMed Central

Kim, Jinsoo; Lee, Youngcheol; Cha, Sungyeoul; Choi, Chuluong; Lee, Seongkyu

2013-01-01

This paper proposes a smartphone-based network real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning and gravity-surveying application (app) that allows semi-real-time measurements using the built-in Bluetooth features of the smartphone and a third-generation or long-term evolution wireless device. The app was implemented on a single smartphone by integrating a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) controller, a laptop, and a field-note writing tool. The observation devices (i.e., a GNSS receiver and relative gravimeter) functioned independently of this system. The app included a gravity module, which converted the measured relative gravity reading into an absolute gravity value according to tides; meter height; instrument drift correction; and network adjustments. The semi-real-time features of this app allowed data to be shared easily with other researchers. Moreover, the proposed smartphone-based gravity-survey app was easily adaptable to various locations and rough terrain due to its compact size. PMID:23857258

Clinical Validity of hearScreen™ Smartphone Hearing Screening for School Children.

PubMed

Mahomed-Asmail, Faheema; Swanepoel, De Wet; Eikelboom, Robert H; Myburgh, Hermanus C; Hall, James

2016-01-01

The study aimed to determine the validity of a smartphone hearing screening technology (hearScreen™) compared with conventional screening audiometry in terms of (1) sensitivity and specificity, (2) referral rate, and (3) test time. One thousand and seventy school-age children in grades 1 to 3 (8 ± 1.1 average years) were recruited from five public schools. Children were screened twice, once using conventional audiometry and once with the smartphone hearing screening. Screening was conducted in a counterbalanced sequence, alternating initial screen between conventional or smartphone hearing screening. No statistically significant difference in performance between techniques was noted, with smartphone screening demonstrating equivalent sensitivity (75.0%) and specificity (98.5%) to conventional screening audiometry. While referral rates were lower with the smartphone screening (3.2 vs. 4.6%), it was not significantly different (p > 0.05). Smartphone screening (hearScreen™) was 12.3% faster than conventional screening. Smartphone hearing screening using the hearScreen™ application is accurate and time efficient.

The `WikiGuidelines' smartphone application: Bridging the gaps in availability of evidence-based smartphone mental health applications.

PubMed

Zhang, Melvyn W B; Ho, Roger C M; Mcintyre, Roger S

2016-07-27

Over the past decade, there have been massive advances in technology. These advances in technology have significantly transformed various aspects of healthcare. The advent of E-health and its influence on healthcare practice also implies that there is a paradigm shift in the way healthcare professionals work. Conventionally, healthcare professionals would have to refer to books and journals for updates in treatment algorithms, but with the advent of technology, they could access this information via the web or via various smartphone applications on the go. In the field of Psychiatry, one of the commonest mental health disorder to date, with significant morbidity and mortality is that of Major depressive disorder. Routinely, clinicians and healthcare professionals are advised to refer to standard guidelines in guiding them with regards to their treatment options. Given the high prevalence of conditions like Major Depressive Disorder, it is thus of importance that whatever guidelines that clinicians and healthcare professionals refer to are constantly kept up to date, so that patients could benefit from latest evidence based therapy and treatment. A review of the current literature highlights that whilst there are a multitude of smartphone applications designed for mental health care, previous systematic review has highlighted a paucity of evidence based applications. More importantly, current literature with regards to provision of treatment information to healthcare professionals and patients are limited to web-based interventions. It is the aim of this technical note to highlight a methodology to which the authors have conceptualized in the implementation of an evidence based mental health guideline applications, known as the `Wiki Guidelines' smartphone application. The authors hope to illustrate the algorithms behind the development of the application, and how it could be easily updated by the guidelines working group.

Dental students' uptake of mobile technologies.

PubMed

Khatoon, B; Hill, K B; Walmsley, A D

2014-06-01

The aim of this study was to understand how new mobile technologies, such as smartphones and laptops, are used by dental students. A questionnaire was distributed to undergraduate dental students from years 1 to 4, at the University of Birmingham Dental School. Questionnaires were completed between February and April 2013. Two hundred and seventy questionnaires were completed. Laptops 55% (145) and smartphones 34% (88) were the most popular choice of device for connecting to the net and searching information. Laptops were preferred in first and second year. Students in year 3 preferred mobile phones, and by year 4 the use of mobile phones and laptops was similar. The top two application ideas chosen by students as the most useful on their smart phones were a dictionary for dental education (56%) and multiple choice questions (50%). Students who chose smartphones as their first choice or second choice of device strongly agreed that having the Internet on their smartphones had a positive impact on their dental education (55%). With laptops (48%), students preferred to be at home when using them while for smartphones (31%) they used them anywhere with a connection. E-mail (47%) and social networks (44%) were the top two Internet communication tools used most on laptops. Instant messaging was popular on smartphones (17%). Depending on the year in the course, laptops and smartphones are the most popular choice of device and desktop computers are the least popular. Applications on smartphones are very popular and instant messaging is an upcoming form of communication for students.

Smartphones and tablets: Reshaping radiation oncologists’ lives

PubMed Central

Gomez-Iturriaga, Alfonso; Bilbao, Pedro; Casquero, Francisco; Cacicedo, Jon; Crook, Juanita

2012-01-01

Background Smartphones and tablets are new handheld devices always connected to an information source and capable of providing instant updates, they allow doctors to access the most updated information and provide decision support at the point of care. Aim The practice of radiation oncology has always been a discipline that relies on advanced technology. Smartphones provide substantial processing power, incorporating innovative user interfaces and applications. Materials and methods The most popular smartphone and tablet app stores were searched for “radiation oncology” and “oncology” related apps. A web search was also performed searching for smartphones, tablets, oncology, radiology and radiation oncology. Results Smartphones and tablets allow rapid access to information in the form of podcasts, apps, protocols, reference texts, recent research and more. Conclusion With the rapidly changing advances in radiation oncology, the trend toward accessing resources via smartphones and tablets will only increase, future will show if this technology will improve clinical care. PMID:24669308

Smartphones in nursing education.

PubMed

Phillippi, Julia C; Wyatt, Tami H

2011-08-01

Smartphones are a new technology similar to PDAs but with expanded functions and greater Internet access. This article explores the potential uses and issues surrounding the use of smartphones in nursing education. While the functions of smartphones, such as sending text messages, viewing videos, and access to the Internet, may seem purely recreational, they can be used within the nursing curriculum to engage students and reinforce learning at any time or location. Smartphones can be used for quick access to educational materials and guidelines during clinical, class, or clinical conference. Students can review instructional videos prior to performing skills and readily reach their clinical instructor via text message. Downloadable applications, subscriptions, and reference materials expand the smartphone functions even further. Common concerns about requiring smartphones in nursing education include cost, disease transmission, and equipment interference; however, there are many ways to overcome these barriers and provide students with constant access to current clinical evidence.

Non-invasive blood glucose monitor based on spectroscopy using a smartphone.

PubMed

Dantu, Vishnu; Vempati, Jagannadh; Srivilliputhur, Srinivasan

2014-01-01

Development of a novel method for non-invasive measurement of blood glucose concentration using smartphone is discussed. Our research work has three major contributions to society and science. First, we modified and extended the Beer-Lambert's law in physics to accommodate for multiple wavelengths. This extension can aid researchers who wish to perform optical spectroscopy. Second, we successfully developed a creative and non-invasive way for diabetic patients to measure glucose levels via a smartphone. Researchers and chemists can now use their smartphones to determine the absorbance and, therefore, concentration of a chemical. Third, we created an inexpensive way to perform optical spectroscopy by using a smartphone. Monitoring blood glucose using a smartphone application that simply uses equipment already available on smartphones will improve the lives of diabetic patients who can continuously check their blood glucose levels while avoiding the current inconvenient, unhygienic, and costly invasive glucose meters.

Using Mobile Devices to Display, Overlay, and Animate Geophysical Data and Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Batzli, S.; Parker, D.

2011-12-01

A major challenge in mobile-device map application development is to offer rich content and features with simple and intuitive controls and fast performance. Our goal is to bring visualization, animation, and notifications of near real-time weather and earth observation information derived from satellite and sensor data to mobile devices. Our robust back-end processing infrastructure can deliver content in the form of images, shapes, standard descriptive formats (eg. KML, JSON) or raw data to a variety of desktop software, browsers, and mobile devices on demand. We have developed custom interfaces for low-bandwidth browsers (including mobile phones) and high-feature browsers (including smartphones), as well as native applications for Android and iOS devices. Mobile devices offer time- and location-awareness and persistent data connections, allowing us to tailor timely notifications and displays to the user's geographic and time context. This presentation includes a live demo of how our mobile apps deliver animation of standard and custom data products in an interactive map interface.

The Effects of STI Education on Korean Adolescents Using Smartphone Applications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeong, Sookyung; Cha, Chiyoung; Lee, Jacob

2017-01-01

Objective: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of adolescents' use of smartphone applications and educational booklets in an educational programme about sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Design: Non-equivalent control-group time-series design. Setting: The study was conducted in two public high schools located in two urban areas of…

A Needs Assessment, Development, and Formative Evaluation of a Health Promotion Smartphone Application for College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Tiffany; Chandler, Laura; Mouttapa, Michele

2015-01-01

Background: Approximately half of college students who completed the National College Health Assessment 2013 indicated a greater need for health-related information. University-based smartphone applications may help students better access this information. Purpose: This study describes the needs assessment, development, and formative evaluation of…

A smartphone application of alcohol resilience treatment for behavioral self-control training.

PubMed

Yu, Fei; Albers, Jörg; Gao, Tian; Wang, Minghao; Bilberg, Arne; Stenager, Elsebeth

2012-01-01

High relapse rate is one of the most prominent problems in addiction treatment. Alcohol Resilience Treatment (ART), an alcohol addiction therapy, is based on Cue Exposure Treatment, which has shown promising results in preliminary studies. ART aims at optimizing the core area of relapse prevention, and intends to improve patients' capability to withstand craving of alcohol. This method emphasizes the interplay of resilience and resourcefulness. It contains 6 sessions with different topics according to the stage of treatment circuit, and each session consists of 6 steps. Due to the purity and structure of the treatment rationale, it is realistic, reasonable and manageable to transform the method into a smartphone application. An ART app in Android system and an accessory of bilateral tactile stimulation were developed and will be used in a study with behavioral self-control training. This paper presents the design and realization of the smartphone based ART application. The design of a pilot study, which is to examine the benefits of a smartphone application providing behavioral self-control training, is also reported in this paper.

76 FR 62429 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request, OMB No. 1660-0002...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-07

... De Desastre; FEMA Form 009-0-1S (English) Smartphone, Disaster Assistance Registration; FEMA Form 009-0-2S (Spanish) Smartphone, Registro Para Asistencia De Desastre; FEMA Form 009-0-3 (English... Smartphone Application for 192,447.20 1 192,447.20 .3 57,734 30.66 1,770,124.40 Disaster Assistance/FEMA...

The Relationship between Smartphone Use and Academic Performance in a Sample of Tertiary Students in Singapore: A Cross-Sectional Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhao, Jingming; Yuping, Wei; Maideen, Ismail; Moe, Zan Khin; Nasirudeen, A. M. A.

2018-01-01

The use of smartphone for socialising and learning has become a norm among students in Singapore. Educational institutions are creating lessons and applications for use on mobile platforms. However, the effectiveness of smartphones for learning has not been well studied in Singapore. This study was conducted to understand the association between…

Design, Development, and Formative Evaluation of a Smartphone Application for Recording and Monitoring Physical Activity Levels: The 10,000 Steps "iStepLog"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kirwan, Morwenna; Duncan, Mitch J.; Vandelanotte, Corneel; Mummery, W. Kerry

2013-01-01

Objectives: Limited research exists addressing the development of health-related smartphone apps, a new and potentially effective health promotion delivery strategy. This article describes the development and formative evaluation of a smartphone app associated with a physical activity promotion website. Methods: A combination of qualitative and…

Professionals' views on the use of smartphone technology to support children and adolescents with memory impairment due to acquired brain injury.

PubMed

Plackett, Ruth; Thomas, Sophie; Thomas, Shirley

2017-04-01

Purpose To identify from a health-care professionals' perspective whether smartphones are used by children and adolescents with acquired brain injury as memory aids; what factors predict smartphone use and what barriers prevent the use of smartphones as memory aids by children and adolescents. Method A cross-sectional online survey was undertaken with 88 health-care professionals working with children and adolescents with brain injury. Results Children and adolescents with brain injury were reported to use smartphones as memory aids by 75% of professionals. However, only 42% of professionals helped their clients to use smartphones. The only factor that significantly predicted reported smartphone use was the professionals' positive attitudes toward assistive technology. Several barriers to using smartphones as memory aids were identified, including the poor accessibility of devices and cost of devices. Conclusion Many children and adolescents with brain injury are already using smartphones as memory aids but this is often not facilitated by professionals. Improving the attitudes of professionals toward using smartphones as assistive technology could help to increase smartphone use in rehabilitation. Implications for Rehabilitation Smartphones could be incorporated into rehabilitation programs for young people with brain injury as socially acceptable compensatory aids. Further training and support for professionals on smartphones as compensatory aids could increase professionals' confidence and attitudes in facilitating the use of smartphones as memory aids. Accessibility could be enhanced by the development of a smartphone application specifically designed to be used by young people with brain injury.

Psychoeducation in bipolar disorder with a SIMPLe smartphone application: Feasibility, acceptability and satisfaction.

PubMed

Hidalgo-Mazzei, Diego; Mateu, Ainoa; Reinares, María; Murru, Andrea; Del Mar Bonnín, Caterina; Varo, Cristina; Valentí, Marc; Undurraga, Juan; Strejilevich, Sergio; Sánchez-Moreno, José; Vieta, Eduard; Colom, Francesc

2016-08-01

During the last fifteen years, the possibility of delivering psychoeducation programs through Internet-based platforms have been explored. Studies evaluating those programs have shown good to acceptable retention rates. In this context, we developed a smartphone application (SIMPLe) collecting information about mood symptoms and offering personalized psychoeducation messages. The main aims of this study were to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and satisfaction of the smartphone application. The study was conducted from March to August 2015. Participation in the study was proposed to a consecutive sample of adult patients attending an outpatient mental health clinic. Sociodemographic data, clinical and functional assessments alongside smartphone ownership and uses were collected at baseline and at 3 months' follow-up. A 5 item Likert-scale satisfaction questionnaire was also employed. 51 participants were initially enrolled in the study, 36 (74%) remained actively using the application after 3 months. The whole sample interacted with the application a mean of 77 days (SD=26.2). During these days they completed 88% of the daily tests. Over 86% of the participants agreed that the experience using the application was satisfactory. The diversity of smartphones operating systems led to a moderate, although representative, sample number. Additionally, the subjective data reporting, narrow time frame of use and stability of the patients could have affected the results. The results confirm that this particular intervention is feasible and represent a satisfactory and acceptable instrument for the self-management of bipolar disorder as an add-on to the usual treatment but future clinical trials must still probe its efficacy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Self-assessment of Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease Activity Using a Smartphone Application. Development and 3-month Feasibility Study.

PubMed

Nishiguchi, S; Ito, H; Yamada, M; Yoshitomi, H; Furu, M; Ito, T; Shinohara, A; Ura, T; Okamoto, K; Aoyama, T; Tsuboyama, Tadao

2016-01-01

This article is part of the Focus Theme of Methods of Information in Medicine on "Methodologies, Models and Algorithms for Patients Rehabilitation". Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a progressive inflammatory disease that causes damage to multiple joints, decline in functional status, and premature mortality. Thus, effective and frequent objective assessments are necessary. Then, we developed a self-assessment system for RA patients based on a smartphone application. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of a self-assessment system for RA patients using a smartphone application. We measured daily disease activity in nine RA patients who used the smartphone application for a period of three months. A disease activity score (DAS28) predictive model was used and feedback comments relating to disease activity were shown to patients via the smartphone application each day. To assess participants' RA disease activity, the DAS28 based on the C-reactive protein level was measured by a rheumatologist during monthly clinical visits. The disease activity measured by the application correlated well with the patients' actual disease activity during the 3-month period, as assessed by clinical examination. Furthermore, most participants gave favourable responses to a questionnaire administered at the end of the 3-month period containing questions relating to the ease of use and usefulness of the system. The results of this feasibility study indicated that the DAS28 predictive model can longitudinally predict DAS28 and may be an acceptable and useful tool for assessment of RA disease activity for both patients and healthcare providers.

ENHANCEMENT OF LEARNING ON SAMPLE SIZE CALCULATION WITH A SMARTPHONE APPLICATION: A CLUSTER-RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL.

PubMed

Ngamjarus, Chetta; Chongsuvivatwong, Virasakdi; McNeil, Edward; Holling, Heinz

2017-01-01

Sample size determination usually is taught based on theory and is difficult to understand. Using a smartphone application to teach sample size calculation ought to be more attractive to students than using lectures only. This study compared levels of understanding of sample size calculations for research studies between participants attending a lecture only versus lecture combined with using a smartphone application to calculate sample sizes, to explore factors affecting level of post-test score after training sample size calculation, and to investigate participants’ attitude toward a sample size application. A cluster-randomized controlled trial involving a number of health institutes in Thailand was carried out from October 2014 to March 2015. A total of 673 professional participants were enrolled and randomly allocated to one of two groups, namely, 341 participants in 10 workshops to control group and 332 participants in 9 workshops to intervention group. Lectures on sample size calculation were given in the control group, while lectures using a smartphone application were supplied to the test group. Participants in the intervention group had better learning of sample size calculation (2.7 points out of maximnum 10 points, 95% CI: 24 - 2.9) than the participants in the control group (1.6 points, 95% CI: 1.4 - 1.8). Participants doing research projects had a higher post-test score than those who did not have a plan to conduct research projects (0.9 point, 95% CI: 0.5 - 1.4). The majority of the participants had a positive attitude towards the use of smartphone application for learning sample size calculation.

Using a Motion Sensor-Equipped Smartphone to Facilitate CT-Guided Puncture.

PubMed

Hirata, Masaaki; Watanabe, Ryouhei; Koyano, Yasuhiro; Sugata, Shigenori; Takeda, Yukie; Nakamura, Seiji; Akamune, Akihisa; Tsuda, Takaharu; Mochizuki, Teruhito

2017-04-01

To demonstrate the use of "Smart Puncture," a smartphone application to assist conventional CT-guided puncture without CT fluoroscopy, and to describe the advantages of this application. A puncture guideline is displayed by entering the angle into the application. Regardless of the angle at which the device is being held, the motion sensor ensures that the guideline is displayed at the appropriate angle with respect to gravity. The angle of the smartphone's liquid crystal display (LCD) is also detected, preventing needle deflection from the CT slice image. Physicians can perform the puncture procedure by advancing the needle using the guideline while the smartphone is placed adjacent to the patient. In an experimental puncture test using a sponge as a target, the target was punctured at 30°, 50°, and 70° when the device was tilted to 0°, 15°, 30°, and 45°, respectively. The punctured target was then imaged with a CT scan, and the puncture error was measured. The mean puncture error in the plane parallel to the LCD was less than 2°, irrespective of device tilt. The mean puncture error in the sagittal plane was less than 3° with no device tilt. However, the mean puncture error tended to increase when the tilt was increased. This application can transform a smartphone into a valuable tool that is capable of objectively and accurately assisting CT-guided puncture procedures.

Use of Smartphones to Estimate Carbohydrates in Foods for Diabetes Management.

PubMed

Huang, Jurong; Ding, Hang; McBride, Simon; Ireland, David; Karunanithi, Mohan

2015-01-01

Over 380 million adults worldwide are currently living with diabetes and the number has been projected to reach 590 million by 2035. Uncontrolled diabetes often lead to complications, disability, and early death. In the management of diabetes, dietary intervention to control carbohydrate intake is essential to help manage daily blood glucose level within a recommended range. The intervention traditionally relies on a self-report to estimate carbohydrate intake through a paper based diary. The traditional approach is known to be inaccurate, inconvenient, and resource intensive. Additionally, patients often require a long term of learning or training to achieve a certain level of accuracy and reliability. To address these issues, we propose a design of a smartphone application that automatically estimates carbohydrate intake from food images. The application uses imaging processing techniques to classify food type, estimate food volume, and accordingly calculate the amount of carbohydrates. To examine the proof of concept, a small fruit database was created to train a classification algorithm implemented in the application. Consequently, a set of fruit photos (n=6) from a real smartphone were applied to evaluate the accuracy of the carbohydrate estimation. This study demonstrates the potential to use smartphones to improve dietary intervention, although further studies are needed to improve the accuracy, and extend the capability of the smartphone application to analyse broader food contents.

Pilot feasibility of an mHealth system for conducting ecological momentary assessment of mood-related symptoms following traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Juengst, Shannon B; Graham, Kristin M; Pulantara, I Wayan; McCue, Michael; Whyte, Ellen M; Dicianno, Brad E; Parmanto, Bambang; Arenth, Patricia M; Skidmore, Elizabeth R D; Wagner, Amy K

2015-01-01

This study assessed pilot feasibility and validity of a mobile health (mHealth) system for tracking mood-related symptoms after traumatic brain injury (TBI). A prospective, repeated measures design was used to assess compliance with daily ecological momentary assessments (EMA) conducted via a smartphone application over an 8-week period. An mHealth system was developed specifically for individuals with TBI and utilized previously validated tools for depressive and anxiety symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7). Feasibility was assessed in 20 community-dwelling adults with TBI via an assessment of compliance, satisfaction and usability of the smartphone applications. The authors also developed and implemented a clinical patient safety management mechanism for those endorsing suicidality. Participants correctly completed 73.4% of all scheduled assessments, demonstrating good compliance. Daily assessments took <2 minutes to complete. Participants reported high satisfaction with smartphone applications (6.3 of 7) and found them easy to use (6.2 of 7). Comparison of assessments obtained via telephone-based interview and EMA demonstrated high correlations (r = 0.81-0.97), supporting the validity of conducting these assessments via smartphone application in this population. EMA conducted via smartphone demonstrates initial feasibility among adults with TBI and presents numerous opportunities for long-term monitoring of mood-related symptoms in real-world settings.

BrailleEasy: One-handed Braille Keyboard for Smartphones.

PubMed

Šepić, Barbara; Ghanem, Abdurrahman; Vogel, Stephan

2015-01-01

The evolution of mobile technology is moving at a very fast pace. Smartphones are currently considered a primary communication platform where people exchange voice calls, text messages and emails. The human-smartphone interaction, however, is generally optimized for sighted people through the use of visual cues on the touchscreen, e.g., typing text by tapping on a visual keyboard. Unfortunately, this interaction scheme renders smartphone technology largely inaccessible to visually impaired people as it results in slow typing and higher error rates. Apple and some third party applications provide solutions specific to blind people which enables them to use Braille on smartphones. These applications usually require both hands for typing. However, Brailling with both hands while holding the phone is not very comfortable. Furthermore, two-handed Brailling is not possible on smartwatches, which will be used more pervasively in the future. Therefore, we develop a platform for one-handed Brailing consisting of a custom keyboard called BrailleEasy to input Arabic or English Braille codes within any application, and a BrailleTutor application for practicing. Our platform currently supports Braille grade 1, and will be extended to support contractions, spelling correction, and more languages. Preliminary analysis of user studies for blind participants showed that after less than two hours of practice, participants were able to type significantly faster with the BrailleEasy keyboard than with the standard QWERTY keyboard.

Modular Applications with Smartphones and Smartpads in Shape, Color and Spectral Measurements for Industry, Biology and Medicine plus Science, Education and Training

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hofmann, Dr Dietrich, Prof; Eng Paul-Gerald Dittrich, B.; Düntsch, B. Eng Eric; Kraus, Daniel; Gärtner, Claudia, Dr; Klemm, Dipl-Ing Richard

2013-09-01

Aim of the paper is the demonstration of a paradigm shift in shape, color and spectral measurements in industry, biology and medicine as well as in measurement science, education and training. Laboratory applications will be supplemented and replaced by innovative in-field and point-of-care applications. Innovative functional modules are smartphones and/or smartpads supplemented by additional hardware apps and software apps. Specific examples are given for numerous practical applications concerning optodigital methods. The methodological classification distinguishes between different levels for combinations of hardware apps (hwapps) and software apps (swapps) with smartphones and/or smartpads. These methods are fundamental enablers for the transformation from conventional stationary working places in industry, biology, medicine plus science, education and training towards innovative mobile working places with in-field and point-of-care characteristics as well as mobile open online courses MOOCs. The innovative approach opens so far untapped enormous markets for measurement science and engineering. These working conditions will be very common due to their convenience, reliability and affordability. The fundamental enablers are smartphones and/or smartpads. A highly visible advantage of smartphones and/or smartpads is the huge number of their distribution, their worldwide connectivity via Internet and cloud services and the experienced capabilities of their users for practical operations. Young people are becoming the pioneers.

Smartphones in ophthalmology

PubMed Central

Chhablani, Jay; Kaja, Simon; Shah, Vinay A

2012-01-01

The potential usefulness of smartphones in the medical field is evolving everyday. This article describes various tools available on smartphones, largely focusing on the iPhone, for the examination of an ophthalmic patient, for patient and physician education, as well as reference tools for both ophthalmologists and vision researchers. Furthermore, the present article discusses how smartphones can be used for ophthalmic photography and image management, and foremost, the usefulness of the applications such as the Eye Handbook for the ophthalmologist and interested students, patients, physicians, and researchers, currently available in the iPhone. PMID:22446908

Personalized reminiscence therapy M-health application for patients living with dementia: Innovating using open source code repository.

PubMed

Zhang, Melvyn W B; Ho, Roger C M

2017-01-01

Dementia is known to be an illness which brings forth marked disability amongst the elderly individuals. At times, patients living with dementia do also experience non-cognitive symptoms, and these symptoms include that of hallucinations, delusional beliefs as well as emotional liability, sexualized behaviours and aggression. According to the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines, non-pharmacological techniques are typically the first-line option prior to the consideration of adjuvant pharmacological options. Reminiscence and music therapy are thus viable options. Lazar et al. [3] previously performed a systematic review with regards to the utilization of technology to delivery reminiscence based therapy to individuals who are living with dementia and has highlighted that technology does have benefits in the delivery of reminiscence therapy. However, to date, there has been a paucity of M-health innovations in this area. In addition, most of the current innovations are not personalized for each of the person living with Dementia. Prior research has highlighted the utility for open source repository in bioinformatics study. The authors hoped to explain how they managed to tap upon and make use of open source repository in the development of a personalized M-health reminiscence therapy innovation for patients living with dementia. The availability of open source code repository has changed the way healthcare professionals and developers develop smartphone applications today. Conventionally, a long iterative process is needed in the development of native application, mainly because of the need for native programming and coding, especially so if the application needs to have interactive features or features that could be personalized. Such repository enables the rapid and cost effective development of application. Moreover, developers are also able to further innovate, as less time is spend in the iterative process.

Smartphone addiction among university students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

PubMed Central

Alosaimi, Fahad D.; Alyahya, Haifa; Alshahwan, Hatem; Mahyijari, Nawal Al; Shaik, Shaffi A.

2016-01-01

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence and correlates of smartphone addiction among university students in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between September 2014 and March 2015. An electronic self administered questionnaire and the problematic use of mobile phones (PUMP) Scale were used. Results: Out of 2367 study subjects, 27.2% stated that they spent more than 8 hours per day using their smartphones. Seventy-five percent used at least 4 applications per day, primarily for social networking and watching news. As a consequence of using the smartphones, at least 43% had decrease sleeping hours, and experienced a lack of energy the next day, 30% had a more unhealthy lifestyle (ate more fast food, gained weight, and exercised less), and 25% reported that their academic achievement been adversely affected. There are statistically significant positive relationships among the 4 study variables, consequences of smartphone use (negative lifestyle, poor academic achievement), number of hours per day spent using smartphones, years of study, and number of applications used, and the outcome variable score on the PUMP. The mean values of the PUMP scale were 60.8 with a median of 60. Conclusion: University students in Saudi Arabia are at risk of addiction to smartphones; a phenomenon that is associated with negative effects on sleep, levels of energy, eating habits, weight, exercise, and academic performance. PMID:27279515

Smartphone addiction among university students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

PubMed

Alosaimi, Fahad D; Alyahya, Haifa; Alshahwan, Hatem; Al Mahyijari, Nawal; Shaik, Shaik A

2016-06-01

To investigate the prevalence and correlates of smartphone addiction among university students in Saudi Arabia. This cross-sectional study was conducted in King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between September 2014 and March 2015. An electronic self administered questionnaire and the problematic use of mobile phones (PUMP) Scale were used.  Out of 2367 study subjects, 27.2% stated that they spent more than 8 hours per day using their smartphones. Seventy-five percent used at least 4 applications per day, primarily for social networking and watching news. As a consequence of using the smartphones, at least 43% had decrease sleeping hours, and experienced a lack of energy the next day, 30% had a more unhealthy lifestyle  (ate more fast food, gained weight, and exercised less), and 25% reported that their academic achievement been adversely affected. There are statistically significant positive relationships among the 4 study variables, consequences of smartphone use (negative lifestyle, poor academic achievement), number of hours per day spent using smartphones, years of study, and number of applications used, and the outcome variable score on the PUMP. The mean values of the PUMP scale were 60.8 with a median of 60.  University students in Saudi Arabia are at risk of addiction to smartphones; a phenomenon that is associated with negative effects on sleep, levels of energy, eating habits, weight, exercise, and academic performance.

A Review of Smartphone Applications for Promoting Physical Activity.

PubMed

Coughlin, Steven S; Whitehead, Mary; Sheats, Joyce Q; Mastromonico, Jeff; Smith, Selina

Rapid developments in technology have encouraged the use of smartphones in health promotion research and practice. Although many applications (apps) relating to physical activity are available from major smartphone platforms, relatively few have been tested in research studies to determine their effectiveness in promoting health. In this article, we summarize data on use of smartphone apps for promoting physical activity based upon bibliographic searches with relevant search terms in PubMed and CINAHL. After screening the abstracts or full texts of articles, 15 eligible studies of the acceptability or efficacy of smartphone apps for increasing physical activity were identified. Of the 15 included studies, 6 were qualitative research studies, 8 were randomized control trials, and one was a nonrandomized study with a pre-post design. The results indicate that smartphone apps can be efficacious in promoting physical activity although the magnitude of the intervention effect is modest. Participants of various ages and genders respond favorably to apps that automatically track physical activity (e.g., steps taken), track progress toward physical activity goals, and are user-friendly and flexible enough for use with several types of physical activity. Future studies should utilize randomized controlled trial research designs, larger sample sizes, and longer study periods to establish the physical activity measurement and intervention capabilities of smartphones. There is a need for culturally appropriate, tailored health messages to increase knowledge and awareness of health behaviors such as physical activity.

DotLens smartphone microscopy for biological and biomedical applications (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sung, Yu-Lung; Zhao, Fusheng; Shih, Wei-Chuan

2017-02-01

Recent advances in inkjet-printed optics have created a new class of lens fabrication technique. Lenses with a tunable geometry, magnification, and focal length can be fabricated by dispensing controlled amounts of liquid polymer onto a heated surface. This fabrication technique is highly cost-effective, and can achieve optically smooth surface finish. Dubbed DotLens, a single of which weighs less than 50 mg and occupies a volume less than 50 μL. DotLens can be attached onto any smartphone camera akin to a contact lens, and enable smartphones to obtain image resolution as fine as 1 µm. The surface curvature modifies the optical path of light to the image sensor, and enables the camera to focus as close as 2 mm. This enables microscopic imaging on a smartphone without any additional attachments, and has shown great potential in mobile point-of-care diagnostic systems, particularly for histology of tissue sections and cytology of blood cells. DotLens Smartphone Microscopy represents an innovative approach fundamentally different from other smartphone microscopes. In this paper, we describe the application and performance of DotLens smartphone microscopy in biological and biomedical research. In particular, we show recent results from images collected from pathology tissue slides with cancer features. In addition, we show performance in cytological analysis of blood smear. This tool has empowered Citizen Science investigators to collect microscopic images from various interesting objects.

Development of Smartphone Educational Application for Patients with Coronary Artery Disease

PubMed Central

Cho, Min Jung; Sim, Jae Lan

2014-01-01

Objectives This study was conducted to develop a smartphone application (app) as an educational learning instrument for coronary artery disease (CAD) patients and to assess the users' level of satisfaction. Methods This methodological research involves elicited learning content for CAD patients to develop a learning instrument using the smartphone app. The app was developed according to the steps of Assessment, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation, which is a systematic instructional design model. The levels of satisfaction with the developed smartphone app among 30 outpatients with CAD were assessed via a questionnaire during their visits to a cardiology outpatient department. Results A smartphone app 'Strong Heart' was developed through reviewing the literature associated with education for CAD patients under professional supervision and searching for medical smartphone apps that are already available. The learning contents include six main sections containing essential learning issues in managing CAD and additional information to attract the user's attention, such as patient cases and quizzes. After modification with feedback from experts, the app was finally developed and evaluated by patients who reported that they were satisfied with the usefulness of the app. Conclusions The developed smartphone app is available on both the iPhone App Store and the Android Play Store. Patients with CAD may utilize the app for supporting educational material without limitations of time and space. PMID:24872910

Smartphone applications to reduce alcohol consumption and help patients with alcohol use disorder: a state-of-the-art review.

PubMed

Meredith, Steven E; Alessi, Sheila M; Petry, Nancy M

Hazardous drinking and alcohol use disorder (AUD) are substantial contributors to USA and global morbidity and mortality. Patient self-management and continuing care are needed to combat these public health threats. However, services are rarely provided to patients outside of clinic settings or following brief intervention. Smartphone applications ("apps") may help narrow the divide between traditional health care and patient needs. The purpose of this review is to identify and summarize smartphone apps to reduce alcohol consumption or treat AUD that have been evaluated for feasibility, acceptability, and/or efficacy. We searched two research databases for peer-reviewed journal articles published in English that evaluated smartphone apps to decrease alcohol consumption or treat AUD. We identified six apps. Two of these apps (A-CHESS and LBMI-A) promoted self-reported reductions in alcohol use, two (Promillekoll and PartyPlanner) failed to promote self-reported reductions in alcohol use, and two (HealthCall-S and Chimpshop) require further evaluation and testing before any conclusions regarding efficacy can be made. In summary, few evaluations of smartphone apps to reduce alcohol consumption or treat AUD have been reported in the scientific literature. Although advances in smartphone technology hold promise for disseminating interventions among hazardous drinkers and individuals with AUD, more systematic evaluations are necessary to ensure that smartphone apps are clinically useful.

High usability of a smartphone application for reporting symptoms in adults with cystic fibrosis.

PubMed

Wood, Jamie; Jenkins, Sue; Putrino, David; Mulrennan, Siobhain; Morey, Sue; Cecins, Nola; Hill, Kylie

2017-01-01

Introduction In cystic fibrosis, exacerbations impair lung function and health-related quality of life, increase healthcare costs and reduce survival. Delayed reporting of worsening symptoms can result in more severe exacerbations and worse clinical outcomes; therefore there is a need for a novel approach to facilitate the early identification and treatment of exacerbations in this population. This study investigated the usability of a smartphone application to report symptoms in adults with cystic fibrosis, and the observer agreement in clinical decision-making between senior clinicians interpreting smartphone application responses. Methods Adults with cystic fibrosis used the smartphone application weekly for four weeks. The application comprised 10 yes/no questions regarding respiratory symptoms and two regarding emotional well-being. Usability was measured with the System Usability Scale; Observer agreement was tested by providing a cystic fibrosis physician and a nurse practitioner with 45 clinical scenarios. For each scenario the clinicians, who were blinded to each other's responses, were asked to indicate whether or not they would: (i) initiate telephone contact, and/or (ii) request a clinic visit for the individual. Results Ten participants (five female), aged mean (SD) 33 (11) years, FEV1 49 (27)% predicted completed the study. The mean (SD) System Usability Scale score was 94 (6). There was perfect agreement between clinicians for initiating contact with the participant ( κ = 1.0, p < 0.001), and near-perfect for requesting a clinic visit ( κ = 0.86, p < 0.001). Discussion The use of a smartphone application for reporting symptoms in adults with cystic fibrosis has excellent usability and near-perfect agreement between senior clinicians when interpreting the application responses.

The Uses of the Smartphone for Doctors: An Empirical Study from Samsung Medical Center

PubMed Central

Choi, Jong Soo; Yi, Byoungkee; Park, Jong Hwan; Choi, Kyesook; Jung, Jaegon; Park, Seung Woo

2011-01-01

Objectives In healthcare, mobile computing made possible by smartphones is becoming an important tool among healthcare professionals. However, currently there is very little research into the effectiveness of such applications of technology. This study aims to present a framework for a smartphone application to give doctors mobile access to patient information, then review the consequences of its use and discuss its future direction. Methods Since 2003 when Samsung Medical Center introduced its first mobile application, a need to develop a new application targeting the latest smartphone technology was identified. To that end, an application named Dr. SMART S was officially launched on December 22nd, 2010. Results We analyzed the usage data of the application for a month until April 25th, 2011. On average, 170 doctors (13% of the entire body of doctors) logged on 2.4 times per day and that number keeps growing. The number was uniformly distributed across all working hours, with exceptions of heavy accesses around 6-8 AM and 4-6 PM when doctors do their regular rounds to see the patients. The most commonly accessed content was inpatient information, this constituted 78.6% of all accesses, within this 50% was to accesses lab results. Conclusions Looking at the usage data, we can see the use of Dr. SMART S by doctors is growing in sync with the popularity of smartphones. Since u-Health seem an inevitable future trend, a more rigorous study needs to be conducted on how such mobile applications as Dr. SMART S affect the quality of care and patient safety to derive directions for further improvements. PMID:21886874

Open-source do-it-yourself multi-color fluorescence smartphone microscopy

PubMed Central

Sung, Yulung; Campa, Fernando; Shih, Wei-Chuan

2017-01-01

Fluorescence microscopy is an important technique for cellular and microbiological investigations. Translating this technique onto a smartphone can enable particularly powerful applications such as on-site analysis, on-demand monitoring, and point-of-care diagnostics. Current fluorescence smartphone microscope setups require precise illumination and imaging alignment which altogether limit its broad adoption. We report a multi-color fluorescence smartphone microscope with a single contact lens-like add-on lens and slide-launched total-internal-reflection guided illumination for three common tasks in investigative fluorescence microscopy: autofluorescence, fluorescent stains, and immunofluorescence. The open-source, simple and cost-effective design has the potential for do-it-yourself fluorescence smartphone microscopy. PMID:29188104

The South African English Smartphone Digits-in-Noise Hearing Test: Effect of Age, Hearing Loss, and Speaking Competence.

PubMed

Potgieter, Jenni-Marí; Swanepoel, De Wet; Myburgh, Hermanus Carel; Smits, Cas

2017-11-20

This study determined the effect of hearing loss and English-speaking competency on the South African English digits-in-noise hearing test to evaluate its suitability for use across native (N) and non-native (NN) speakers. A prospective cross-sectional cohort study of N and NN English adults with and without sensorineural hearing loss compared pure-tone air conduction thresholds to the speech reception threshold (SRT) recorded with the smartphone digits-in-noise hearing test. A rating scale was used for NN English listeners' self-reported competence in speaking English. This study consisted of 454 adult listeners (164 male, 290 female; range 16 to 90 years), of whom 337 listeners had a best ear four-frequency pure-tone average (4FPTA; 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz) of ≤25 dB HL. A linear regression model identified three predictors of the digits-in-noise SRT, namely, 4FPTA, age, and self-reported English-speaking competence. The NN group with poor self-reported English-speaking competence (≤5/10) performed significantly (p < 0.01) poorer than the N and NN (≥6/10) groups on the digits-in-noise test. Screening characteristics of the test improved with separate cutoff values depending on English-speaking competence for the N and NN groups (≥6/10) and NN group alone (≤5/10). Logistic regression models, which include age in the analysis, showed a further improvement in sensitivity and specificity for both groups (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.962 and 0.903, respectively). Self-reported English-speaking competence had a significant influence on the SRT obtained with the smartphone digits-in-noise test. A logistic regression approach considering SRT, self-reported English-speaking competence, and age as predictors of best ear 4FPTA >25 dB HL showed that the test can be used as an accurate hearing screening tool for N and NN English speakers. The smartphone digits-in-noise test, therefore, allows testing in a multilingual population familiar with English digits using dynamic cutoff values that can be chosen according to self-reported English-speaking competence and age.

Using Smartphones and Health Apps to Change and Manage Health Behaviors: A Population-Based Survey

PubMed Central

Dombrowski, Stephan U; Oedekoven, Monika; O´Sullivan, Julie L; Kanzler, Melanie; Kuhlmey, Adelheid; Gellert, Paul

2017-01-01

Background Chronic conditions are an increasing challenge for individuals and the health care system. Smartphones and health apps are potentially promising tools to change health-related behaviors and manage chronic conditions. Objective The aim of this study was to explore (1) the extent of smartphone and health app use, (2) sociodemographic, medical, and behavioral correlates of smartphone and health app use, and (3) associations of the use of apps and app characteristics with actual health behaviors. Methods A population-based survey (N=4144) among Germans, aged 35 years and older, was conducted. Sociodemographics, presence of chronic conditions, health behaviors, quality of life, and health literacy, as well as the use of the Internet, smartphone, and health apps were assessed by questionnaire at home visit. Binary logistic regression models were applied. Results It was found that 61.25% (2538/4144) of participants used a smartphone. Compared with nonusers, smartphone users were younger, did more research on the Internet, were more likely to work full-time and more likely to have a university degree, engaged more in physical activity, and less in low fat diet, and had a higher health-related quality of life and health literacy. Among smartphone users, 20.53% (521/2538) used health apps. App users were younger, less likely to be native German speakers, did more research on the Internet, were more likely to report chronic conditions, engaged more in physical activity, and low fat diet, and were more health literate compared with nonusers who had a smartphone. Health apps focused on smoking cessation (232/521, 44.5%), healthy diet (201/521, 38.6%), and weight loss (121/521, 23.2%). The most common app characteristics were planning (264/521, 50.7%), reminding (188/521, 36.1%), prompting motivation (179/521 34.4%), and the provision of information (175/521, 33.6%). Significant associations were found between planning and the health behavior physical activity, between feedback or monitoring and physical activity, and between feedback or monitoring and adherence to doctor’s advice. Conclusions Although there were many smartphone and health app users, a substantial proportion of the population was not engaged. Findings suggest age-related, socioeconomic-related, literacy-related, and health-related disparities in the use of mobile technologies. Health app use may reflect a user’s motivation to change or maintain health behaviors. App developers and researchers should take account of the needs of older people, people with low health literacy, and chronic conditions. PMID:28381394

Nursing Students' Opinion on the Use of Smartphone Applications (Apps) in Clinical Education and Training: A Study Protocol.

PubMed

O'Connor, Siobhan; Andrews, Tom

2016-01-01

Nurse educators are exploring different mobile technologies to provide additional support to nursing students in clinical practice. However, the view of nursing students on the use of smartphone applications (apps) to enhance clinical education has not been explored. This proposed study will use a self-reported questionnaire to examine the opinions of nursing students on the current and potential use of smartphone apps when training in clinical settings. Descriptive and inferential statistics will be performed on the quantitative data. Qualitative data from open ended questions will be thematically analysed using the framework approach. This will be the first study to examine the use of smartphone apps as a support in clinical teaching from a students' perspective. Their opinion is vital if the right mobile technology is to be designed and implemented.

Introducing High School Students to Chemical Engineering Kinetics with a Simple Experiment-Based Smartphone Education Application

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanley, Simone; Ymele-Leki, Patrick

2017-01-01

A community outreach project was integrated in a District of Columbia public schools summer internship program for students from underrepresented minorities in STEM. The project introduced these students to fundamental engineering principles by leveraging a smartphone application (App) so readily accessible and attractive to them that it boosted…

Feasibility, reliability, and validity of a smartphone based application for the assessment of cognitive function in the elderly.

PubMed

Brouillette, Robert M; Foil, Heather; Fontenot, Stephanie; Correro, Anthony; Allen, Ray; Martin, Corby K; Bruce-Keller, Annadora J; Keller, Jeffrey N

2013-01-01

While considerable knowledge has been gained through the use of established cognitive and motor assessment tools, there is a considerable interest and need for the development of a battery of reliable and validated assessment tools that provide real-time and remote analysis of cognitive and motor function in the elderly. Smartphones appear to be an obvious choice for the development of these "next-generation" assessment tools for geriatric research, although to date no studies have reported on the use of smartphone-based applications for the study of cognition in the elderly. The primary focus of the current study was to assess the feasibility, reliability, and validity of a smartphone-based application for the assessment of cognitive function in the elderly. A total of 57 non-demented elderly individuals were administered a newly developed smartphone application-based Color-Shape Test (CST) in order to determine its utility in measuring cognitive processing speed in the elderly. Validity of this novel cognitive task was assessed by correlating performance on the CST with scores on widely accepted assessments of cognitive function. Scores on the CST were significantly correlated with global cognition (Mini-Mental State Exam: r = 0.515, p<0.0001) and multiple measures of processing speed and attention (Digit Span: r = 0.427, p<0.0001; Trail Making Test: r = -0.651, p<0.00001; Digit Symbol Test: r = 0.508, p<0.0001). The CST was not correlated with naming and verbal fluency tasks (Boston Naming Test, Vegetable/Animal Naming) or memory tasks (Logical Memory Test). Test re-test reliability was observed to be significant (r = 0.726; p = 0.02). Together, these data are the first to demonstrate the feasibility, reliability, and validity of using a smartphone-based application for the purpose of assessing cognitive function in the elderly. The importance of these findings for the establishment of smartphone-based assessment batteries of cognitive and motor function in the elderly is discussed.

Investigation of the Rolling Motion of a Hollow Cylinder Using a Smartphone's Digital Compass

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wattanayotin, Phattara; Puttharugsa, Chokchai; Khemmani, Supitch

2017-01-01

This study used a smartphone's digital compass to observe the rolling motion of a hollow cylinder on an inclined plane. The smartphone (an iPhone 4s) was attached to the end of one side of a hollow cylinder to record the experimental data using the SensorLog application. In the experiment, the change of angular position was measured by the…

Smartphone application for mechanical quality assurance of medical linear accelerators.

PubMed

Kim, Hwiyoung; Lee, Hyunseok; Park, Jong In; Choi, Chang Heon; Park, So-Yeon; Kim, Hee Jung; Kim, Young Suk; Ye, Sung-Joon

2017-06-07

Mechanical quality assurance (QA) of medical linear accelerators consists of time-consuming and human-error-prone procedures. We developed a smartphone application system for mechanical QA. The system consists of two smartphones: one attached to a gantry for obtaining real-time information on the mechanical parameters of the medical linear accelerator, and another displaying real-time information via a Bluetooth connection with the former. Motion sensors embedded in the smartphone were used to measure gantry and collimator rotations. Images taken by the smartphone's high-resolution camera were processed to evaluate accuracies of jaw-positioning, crosshair centering and source-to-surface distance (SSD). The application was developed using Android software development kit and OpenCV library. The accuracy and precision of the system was validated against an optical rotation stage and digital calipers, prior to routine QA measurements of five medical linear accelerators. The system accuracy and precision in measuring angles and lengths were determined to be 0.05  ±  0.05° and 0.25  ±  0.14 mm, respectively. The mean absolute errors (MAEs) in QA measurements of gantry and collimator rotation were 0.05  ±  0.04° and 0.05  ±  0.04°, respectively. The MAE in QA measurements of light field was 0.39  ±  0.36 mm. The MAEs in QA measurements of crosshair centering and SSD were 0.40  ±  0.35 mm and 0.41  ±  0.32 mm, respectively. In conclusion, most routine mechanical QA procedures could be performed using the smartphone application system with improved precision and within a shorter time-frame, while eliminating potential human errors.

Use of smartphone technology in cardiology.

PubMed

Nguyen, Hoang H; Silva, Jennifer N A

2016-05-01

Smartphone-based technologies along with broadband connectivity are changing the way modern cardiology is practiced. The ever broadening connectivity and increasing capabilities of smartphone-based technologies can better monitor, diagnose, and prevent cardiovascular diseases. Researchers can leverage the ubiquitous use of smartphone-based technologies and their constant stream of biometric data to establish large community-based clinical research studies. Patient engagement is enhanced with constant and on-demand access to physicians, daily self-monitoring, and expanding social networks. On the other hand, the exponential growth of smartphone-based technologies invariably disrupts the traditional healthcare model and leaves a vacuum in the infrastructure, medico-legal apparatus, and reimbursement systems that need to be addressed. In this review, we present a comprehensive discussion of the various applications utilizing smartphone-based technologies in cardiology. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Full On-Device Stay Points Detection in Smartphones for Location-Based Mobile Applications.

PubMed

Pérez-Torres, Rafael; Torres-Huitzil, César; Galeana-Zapién, Hiram

2016-10-13

The tracking of frequently visited places, also known as stay points, is a critical feature in location-aware mobile applications as a way to adapt the information and services provided to smartphones users according to their moving patterns. Location based applications usually employ the GPS receiver along with Wi-Fi hot-spots and cellular cell tower mechanisms for estimating user location. Typically, fine-grained GPS location data are collected by the smartphone and transferred to dedicated servers for trajectory analysis and stay points detection. Such Mobile Cloud Computing approach has been successfully employed for extending smartphone's battery lifetime by exchanging computation costs, assuming that on-device stay points detection is prohibitive. In this article, we propose and validate the feasibility of having an alternative event-driven mechanism for stay points detection that is executed fully on-device, and that provides higher energy savings by avoiding communication costs. Our solution is encapsulated in a sensing middleware for Android smartphones, where a stream of GPS location updates is collected in the background, supporting duty cycling schemes, and incrementally analyzed following an event-driven paradigm for stay points detection. To evaluate the performance of the proposed middleware, real world experiments were conducted under different stress levels, validating its power efficiency when compared against a Mobile Cloud Computing oriented solution.

A Smartphone-Based Application Improves the Accuracy, Completeness, and Timeliness of Cattle Disease Reporting and Surveillance in Ethiopia

PubMed Central

Beyene, Tariku Jibat; Asfaw, Fentahun; Getachew, Yitbarek; Tufa, Takele Beyene; Collins, Iain; Beyi, Ashenafi Feyisa; Revie, Crawford W.

2018-01-01

Accurate disease reporting, ideally in near real time, is a prerequisite to detecting disease outbreaks and implementing appropriate measures for their control. This study compared the performance of the traditional paper-based approach to animal disease reporting in Ethiopia to one using an application running on smartphones. In the traditional approach, the total number of cases for each disease or syndrome was aggregated by animal species and reported to each administrative level at monthly intervals; while in the case of the smartphone application demographic information, a detailed list of presenting signs, in addition to the putative disease diagnosis were immediately available to all administrative levels via a Cloud-based server. While the smartphone-based approach resulted in much more timely reporting, there were delays due to limited connectivity; these ranged on average from 2 days (in well-connected areas) up to 13 days (in more rural locations). We outline the challenges that would likely be associated with any widespread rollout of a smartphone-based approach such as the one described in this study but demonstrate that in the long run the approach offers significant benefits in terms of timeliness of disease reporting, improved data integrity and greatly improved animal disease surveillance. PMID:29387688

Travel Mode Detection with Varying Smartphone Data Collection Frequencies

PubMed Central

Shafique, Muhammad Awais; Hato, Eiji

2016-01-01

Smartphones are becoming increasingly popular day-by-day. Modern smartphones are more than just calling devices. They incorporate a number of high-end sensors that provide many new dimensions to smartphone experience. The use of smartphones, however, can be extended from the usual telecommunication field to applications in other specialized fields including transportation. Sensors embedded in the smartphones like GPS, accelerometer and gyroscope can collect data passively, which in turn can be processed to infer the travel mode of the smartphone user. This will solve most of the shortcomings associated with conventional travel survey methods including biased response, no response, erroneous time recording, etc. The current study uses the sensors’ data collected by smartphones to extract nine features for classification. Variables including data frequency, moving window size and proportion of data to be used for training, are dealt with to achieve better results. Random forest is used to classify the smartphone data among six modes. An overall accuracy of 99.96% is achieved, with no mode less than 99.8% for data collected at 10 Hz frequency. The accuracy is observed to decrease with decrease in data frequency, but at the same time the computation time also decreases. PMID:27213380

A feasibility study on smartphone accelerometer-based recognition of household activities and influence of smartphone position.

PubMed

Della Mea, Vincenzo; Quattrin, Omar; Parpinel, Maria

2017-12-01

Obesity and physical inactivity are the most important risk factors for chronic diseases. The present study aimed at (i) developing and testing a method for classifying household activities based on a smartphone accelerometer; (ii) evaluating the influence of smartphone position; and (iii) evaluating the acceptability of wearing a smartphone for activity recognition. An Android application was developed to record accelerometer data and calculate descriptive features on 5-second time blocks, then classified with nine algorithms. Household activities were: sitting, working at the computer, walking, ironing, sweeping the floor, going down stairs with a shopping bag, walking while carrying a large box, and climbing stairs with a shopping bag. Ten volunteers carried out the activities for three times, each one with a smartphone in a different position (pocket, arm, and wrist). Users were then asked to answer a questionnaire. 1440 time blocks were collected. Three algorithms demonstrated an accuracy greater than 80% for all smartphone positions. While for some subjects the smartphone was uncomfortable, it seems that it did not really affect activity. Smartphones can be used to recognize household activities. A further development is to measure metabolic equivalent tasks starting from accelerometer data only.

The use of mobile smart devices and medical apps in the family practice setting.

PubMed

Yaman, Hakan; Yavuz, Erdinç; Er, Adem; Vural, Ramazan; Albayrak, Yalçin; Yardimci, Ahmet; Asilkan, Özcan

2016-04-01

In this study smartphones/tablet PCs and medical application utilization by family physicians and factors concerning the acceptance of medical application in family practice setting have been studied. One hundred seventy-six participants voluntarily agreed to fill out a 27-item questionnaire. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics and eight items (acceptability of utilization of applications) revealed Cronbach's alpha of 0.965 and the factor analysis showed one factor explaining 80.6% of total variance. The mean age of respondents was 35.7 [standard deviation (SD) = 8.12; min-max = 24-52], 79 were male (45.9%) and 88 female (51.2%), 56 (32.5%) were single and 113 (65.7%) married, and the mean experience duration as a physician was 11.1 years (SD = 11.1; min-max = 1-28). One hundred sixty-seven (97.1%) had a smartphone and/or tablet PC. Smartphone and/or tablet PC were used since 3.7 (SD = 2.17; min-max = 0-12) years. Sixty-one (35.5%) felt that smartphone and/or tablet PC are very important, 92 (53.5%) important, 2 (1.2%) unimportant and 12 (7%) were undecided about this. One hundred eleven (64.5%) participants had a medical application on the smartphone and 66 (38.4%) on the tablet PC. They used 1.7 (SD = 2.04; min-max = 0-10) medical applications for 1.45 (SD = 2.53; min-max = 0-25) times on average. Eighty respondents (66.7%) used a medical application for any medical problem. Almost all family physicians used smartphone and/or tablet PC during daily practice, and the reason of use was commonly for communication and Internet purposes. Usage during working hours was limited, but medical apps were perceived mainly positively for receiving medical information via Internet. Looking at the medical apps' acceptability scale, participants were in agreement with the security, cost, contents' quality, ease of use, support, ease of finding, ease of accessing and motivation to use medical applications. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Integrating Smartphone Technology at the Time of Discharge from a Child and Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatry Unit

PubMed Central

Gregory, Jonathan M.; Sukhera, Javeed; Taylor-Gates, Melissa

2017-01-01

Objective As smartphone technology becomes an increasingly important part of youth mental health, there has been little to no examination of how to effectively integrate smartphone-based safety planning with inpatient care. Our study sought to examine whether or not we could effectively integrate smartphone-based safety planning into the discharge process on a child and adolescent inpatient psychiatry unit. Method Staff members completed a survey to determine the extent of smartphone ownership in a population of admitted child and adolescent inpatients. In addition to quantifying smartphone ownership, the survey also tracked whether youth would integrate their previously-established safety plan with a specific safety planning application on their smartphone (Be Safe) at the time of discharge. Results Sixty-six percent (50/76) of discharged youth owned a smartphone, which is consistent with prior reports of high smartphone ownership in adult psychiatric populations. A minority of youth (18%) downloaded the Be Safe app prior to discharge, with most (68%) suggesting they would download the app after discharge. Notably, all patients who downloaded the app prior to discharge were on their first admission to a psychiatric inpatient unit. Conclusion Child and adolescent psychiatric inpatients have a clear interest in smartphone-based safety planning. Our results suggest that integrating smartphone-related interventions earlier in an admission might improve access before discharge. This highlights the tension between restricting and incorporating smartphone access for child and adolescent inpatients and may inform future study in this area. PMID:28331503

To use or not to use? Compulsive behavior and its role in smartphone addiction

PubMed Central

Lin, Y-H; Lin, Y-C; Lin, S-H; Lee, Y-H; Lin, P-H; Chiang, C-L; Chang, L-R; Yang, C C H; Kuo, T B J

2017-01-01

Global smartphone penetration has led to unprecedented addictive behaviors. To develop a smartphone use/non-use pattern by mobile application (App) in order to identify problematic smartphone use, a total of 79 college students were monitored by the App for 1 month. The App-generated parameters included the daily use/non-use frequency, the total duration and the daily median of the duration per epoch. We introduced two other parameters, the root mean square of the successive differences (RMSSD) and the Similarity Index, in order to explore the similarity in use and non-use between participants. The non-use frequency, non-use duration and non-use-median parameters were able to significantly predict problematic smartphone use. A lower value for the RMSSD and Similarity Index, which represent a higher use/non-use similarity, were also associated with the problematic smartphone use. The use/non-use similarity is able to predict problematic smartphone use and reach beyond just determining whether a person shows excessive use. PMID:28195570

To use or not to use? Compulsive behavior and its role in smartphone addiction.

PubMed

Lin, Y-H; Lin, Y-C; Lin, S-H; Lee, Y-H; Lin, P-H; Chiang, C-L; Chang, L-R; Yang, C C H; Kuo, T B J

2017-02-14

Global smartphone penetration has led to unprecedented addictive behaviors. To develop a smartphone use/non-use pattern by mobile application (App) in order to identify problematic smartphone use, a total of 79 college students were monitored by the App for 1 month. The App-generated parameters included the daily use/non-use frequency, the total duration and the daily median of the duration per epoch. We introduced two other parameters, the root mean square of the successive differences (RMSSD) and the Similarity Index, in order to explore the similarity in use and non-use between participants. The non-use frequency, non-use duration and non-use-median parameters were able to significantly predict problematic smartphone use. A lower value for the RMSSD and Similarity Index, which represent a higher use/non-use similarity, were also associated with the problematic smartphone use. The use/non-use similarity is able to predict problematic smartphone use and reach beyond just determining whether a person shows excessive use.

Designing a Sustainable Noise Mapping System Based on Citizen Scientists Smartphone Sensor Data.

PubMed

Shim, Eunyoung; Kim, Dohyeong; Woo, Hyekyung; Cho, Youngtae

2016-01-01

In this study, we attempted to assess the feasibility of collecting population health data via mobile devices. Specifically, we constructed noise maps based on sound information monitored by individuals' smartphones. We designed a sustainable way of creating noise maps that can overcome the shortcomings of existing station-based noise-monitoring systems. Three hundred and nine Seoul residents aged 20-49 years who used Android-based smartphones were recruited, and the subjects installed a special application that we developed for this study. This application collected information on sound and geographical location every 10 min for 7 days. Using GIS, we were able to construct various types of noise maps of Seoul (e.g., daytime/nighttime and weekdays/weekends) using the information on sound and geographical location obtained via the users' smartphones. Despite the public health importance of noise management, a number of countries and cities lack a sustainable system to monitor noise. This pilot study showed the possibility of using the smartphones of citizen scientists as an economical and sustainable way of monitoring noise, particularly in an urban context in developing countries.

Designing a Sustainable Noise Mapping System Based on Citizen Scientists Smartphone Sensor Data

PubMed Central

Shim, Eunyoung; Kim, Dohyeong; Woo, Hyekyung; Cho, Youngtae

2016-01-01

In this study, we attempted to assess the feasibility of collecting population health data via mobile devices. Specifically, we constructed noise maps based on sound information monitored by individuals’ smartphones. We designed a sustainable way of creating noise maps that can overcome the shortcomings of existing station-based noise-monitoring systems. Three hundred and nine Seoul residents aged 20–49 years who used Android-based smartphones were recruited, and the subjects installed a special application that we developed for this study. This application collected information on sound and geographical location every 10 min for 7 days. Using GIS, we were able to construct various types of noise maps of Seoul (e.g., daytime/nighttime and weekdays/weekends) using the information on sound and geographical location obtained via the users’ smartphones. Despite the public health importance of noise management, a number of countries and cities lack a sustainable system to monitor noise. This pilot study showed the possibility of using the smartphones of citizen scientists as an economical and sustainable way of monitoring noise, particularly in an urban context in developing countries. PMID:27626273

Naturalistic study on the usage of smartphone applications among Finnish drivers.

PubMed

Kujala, Tuomo; Mäkelä, Jakke

2018-06-01

We present results from a naturalistic study that tracked how Finnish drivers use their smartphones while on the move. We monitored 30 heavy in-car smartphone users in Finland during June-September 2016, recording the times that they used their phones, the application used at the time of touch (calls excluded), the location and driving speed. Touches per time unit were used as a proxy for estimating visual-manual distraction due to visual-manual tasks. Our data set allows the determining of whether drivers use their phones differently on varying road types (highway, main road, local rural road, urban road). We found that the road type has an effect on phone use but the effect is contrary to what we expected. Drivers produced more touches per hour on urban roads, yet the use instances tend to be shorter than on the highway or main roads. We also collected statistics on the applications that were used. By far the highest overall rankings in the number of drivers using, number of uses, and duration per use instance was associated with the WhatsApp messaging service. One instance of WhatsApp use had a median of 8 touches, and had a median duration of 35 s. In contrast, navigation application use included a median of 3 touches and lasted for 11 s. The findings suggest that the Finnish smartphone heavy-users do not decrease their phone use when the demands of the traffic conditions increase and that the greatest risk from smartphone use may be currently caused by messaging applications. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Inter-professional delirium education and care: a qualitative feasibility study of implementing a delirium Smartphone application.

PubMed

Zhang, Melvyn; Bingham, Kathleen; Kantarovich, Karin; Laidlaw, Jennifer; Urbach, David; Sockalingam, Sanjeev; Ho, Roger

2016-04-30

Delirium is a common medical condition with a high prevalence in hospital settings. Effective delirium management requires a multi-component intervention, including the use of Interprofessional teams and evidence-based interventions at the point of care. One vehicle for increasing access of delirium practice tools at the point of care is E-health. There has been a paucity of studies describing the implementation of delirium related clinical application. The purpose of this current study is to acquire users' perceptions of the utility, feasibility and effectiveness of a smartphone application for delirium care in a general surgery unit. In addition, the authors aimed to elucidate the potential challenges with implementing this application. This quantitative study was conducted between January 2015 and June 2015 at the University Health Network, Toronto General Hospital site. Participants met inclusion criteria if they were clinical staff on the General Surgery Unit at the Toronto General Hospital site and had experience caring for patients with delirium. At the conclusion of the 4 weeks after the implementation of the intervention, participants were invited by email to participate in a focus group to discuss their perspectives related to using the delirium application Our findings identified several themes related to the implementation and use of this smartphone application in an acute care clinical setting. These themes will provide clinicians preparing to use a smartphone application to support delirium care with an implementation framework. This study is one of the first to demonstrate the potential utility of a smartphone application for delirium inter-professional education. While this technology does appeal to healthcare professionals, it is important to note potential implementation challenges. Our findings provide insights into these potential barriers and can be used to assist healthcare professionals considering the development and use of an inter-professional clinical care application in their setting.

Methodology of developing a smartphone application for crisis research and its clinical application.

PubMed

Zhang, Melvyn W B; Ho, Cyrus S H; Fang, Pan; Lu, Yanxia; Ho, Roger C M

2014-01-01

Recent advancement in Internet based technologies have resulted in the growth of a sub-specialized field, termed as "Infodemiology" and "Infoveillance". Infoveillence refers to the collation of infodemiology measures for the purpose of surveillance and trending. Previous research has only demonstrated the research potential of Web 2.0 medium in collation of data in crisis situation. The objectives for the current study are to demonstrate the methodology of implementation of a smartphone-based application for dissemination and collation of information during a crisis situation. The Haze Smartphone application was developed using an online application builder and using HTML5 as the core programming language. A five-phase developmental method including a) formulation of user requirements, b) system design, c) system development, d) system evaluation and finally e) system application and implementation were adopted. The smartphone application was deployed during a one-week period via a self-sponsored Facebook post and via direct dissemination of the web-links by emails. A total of 298 respondents took part in the survey within the application. Most of them were between the ages of 20- to 29-years old and had a university education. More individuals preferred the option of accessing and providing feedback to a survey on physical and psychological wellbeing via direct access to a Web-based questionnaire. In addition, the participants reported a mean number of 4.03 physical symptoms (SD 2.6). The total Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) score was 18.47 (SD 11.69), which indicated that the study population did experience psychological stress but not posttraumatic stress disorder. The perceived dangerous Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) level and the number of physical symptoms were associated with higher IES-R Score (P<0.05). This study demonstrates how a smartphone application could potentially be used to acquire research data in a crisis situation. However, it is crucial for future research to further evaluate its effectiveness in a crisis situation.

Use of and interest in mobile health for diabetes self-care in vulnerable populations.

PubMed

Humble, James R; Tolley, Elizabeth A; Krukowski, Rebecca A; Womack, Catherine R; Motley, Todd S; Bailey, James E

2016-01-01

We aimed to assess use of and interest in mobile health (mHealth) technology and in-person services for diabetes self-care in vulnerable populations. We delivered a self-administered cross-sectional survey. Participants were recruited at two primary care practices (P1 and P2) with P1 located in a medically underserved area and P2 in an affluent suburb. Two-sample t-tests and chi-square tests were used with p < 0.05 significant. In addition, a secondary analysis was performed to analyse differences in use and interest in mHealth by age. Of 75 eligible patients, 60 completed the survey (80% response rate). P1 patients had significantly higher interest in three of five categories of in-person diabetes support services, one of four categories of health-related text messages (TM), and three of eight categories of mHealth applications (p < 0.05). Smartphone users reported higher interest in TM (p = 0.004) and mHealth applications for diabetes self-care (p = 0.004). Younger patients were more likely to have a smartphone (p < 0.006), use the Internet (p < 0.0012), use smartphone applications (p < 0.0004), and to be interested in using applications to manage their diabetes (p < 0.004). This study shows substantial patient interest in TM and mHealth applications for diabetes self-care and suggests that patients in underserved areas may have particularly high interest in using mHealth solutions in primary care. Younger patients and smartphone users were more likely to be interested in using applications to manage their diabetes. As more patients use smartphones, interest in using mHealth to support patient self-care and strengthen primary care infrastructure will continue to grow. © The Author(s) 2015.

Reliability of Two Smartphone Applications for Radiographic Measurements of Hallux Valgus Angles.

PubMed

Mattos E Dinato, Mauro Cesar; Freitas, Marcio de Faria; Milano, Cristiano; Valloto, Elcio; Ninomiya, André Felipe; Pagnano, Rodrigo Gonçalves

The objective of the present study was to assess the reliability of 2 smartphone applications compared with the traditional goniometer technique for measurement of radiographic angles in hallux valgus and the time required for analysis with the different methods. The radiographs of 31 patients (52 feet) with a diagnosis of hallux valgus were analyzed. Four observers, 2 with >10 years' experience in foot and ankle surgery and 2 in-training surgeons, measured the hallux valgus angle and intermetatarsal angle using a manual goniometer technique and 2 smartphone applications (Hallux Angles and iPinPoint). The interobserver and intermethod reliability were estimated using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), and the time required for measurement of the angles among the 3 methods was compared using the Friedman test. A very good or good interobserver reliability was found among the 4 observers measuring the hallux valgus angle and intermetatarsal angle using the goniometer (ICC 0.913 and 0.821, respectively) and iPinPoint (ICC 0.866 and 0.638, respectively). Using the Hallux Angles application, a very good interobserver reliability was found for measurements of the hallux valgus angle (ICC 0.962) and intermetatarsal angle (ICC 0.935) only among the more experienced observers. The time required for the measurements was significantly shorter for the measurements using both smartphone applications compared with the goniometer method. One smartphone application (iPinPoint) was reliable for measurements of the hallux valgus angles by either experienced or nonexperienced observers. The use of these tools might save time in the evaluation of radiographic angles in the hallux valgus. Copyright © 2016 American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Challenges in paper-based fluorogenic optical sensing with smartphones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ulep, Tiffany-Heather; Yoon, Jeong-Yeol

2018-05-01

Application of optically superior, tunable fluorescent nanotechnologies have long been demonstrated throughout many chemical and biological sensing applications. Combined with microfluidics technologies, i.e. on lab-on-a-chip platforms, such fluorescent nanotechnologies have often enabled extreme sensitivity, sometimes down to single molecule level. Within recent years there has been a peak interest in translating fluorescent nanotechnology onto paper-based platforms for chemical and biological sensing, as a simple, low-cost, disposable alternative to conventional silicone-based microfluidic substrates. On the other hand, smartphone integration as an optical detection system as well as user interface and data processing component has been widely attempted, serving as a gateway to on-board quantitative processing, enhanced mobility, and interconnectivity with informational networks. Smartphone sensing can be integrated to these paper-based fluorogenic assays towards demonstrating extreme sensitivity as well as ease-of-use and low-cost. However, with these emerging technologies there are always technical limitations that must be addressed; for example, paper's autofluorescence that perturbs fluorogenic sensing; smartphone flash's limitations in fluorescent excitation; smartphone camera's limitations in detecting narrow-band fluorescent emission, etc. In this review, physical optical setups, digital enhancement algorithms, and various fluorescent measurement techniques are discussed and pinpointed as areas of opportunities to further improve paper-based fluorogenic optical sensing with smartphones.

The Impact of Patient Education with a Smartphone Application on the Quality of Bowel Preparation for Screening Colonoscopy.

PubMed

Cho, JeongHyeon; Lee, SeungHee; Shin, Jung A; Kim, Jeong Ho; Lee, Hong Sub

2017-09-01

Few studies have evaluated the use of a smartphone application (app) for educating people undergoing colonoscopy and optimizing bowel preparation. Therefore, this study was designed to develop a smartphone app for people to use as a preparation guide and to evaluate the efficacy of this app when used prior to colonoscopy. In total, 142 patients (male:female=84:58, mean age=43.5±9.3 years), who were scheduled to undergo a colonoscopy at Myongji Hospital, were enrolled in this study. Seventy-one patients were asked to use a smartphone app that we had recently developed to prepare for the colonoscopy, while the 71 patients of the sex and age-matched control group were educated via written and verbal instructions. The quality of bowel cleansing, evaluated using the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale, was significantly higher in the smartphone app group than in the control group (7.70±1.1 vs. 7.24±0.8, respectively, p =0.007 by t -test). No significant differences were found between the two groups regarding work-up time and the number of patients with polyps. In this study, targeting young adults (≤50 years), the bowel preparation achieved by patients using the smartphone app showed significantly better quality than that of the control group.

Development and validation of a smartphone-based digits-in-noise hearing test in South African English.

PubMed

Potgieter, Jenni-Marí; Swanepoel, De Wet; Myburgh, Hermanus Carel; Hopper, Thomas Christopher; Smits, Cas

2015-07-01

The objective of this study was to develop and validate a smartphone-based digits-in-noise hearing test for South African English. Single digits (0-9) were recorded and spoken by a first language English female speaker. Level corrections were applied to create a set of homogeneous digits with steep speech recognition functions. A smartphone application was created to utilize 120 digit-triplets in noise as test material. An adaptive test procedure determined the speech reception threshold (SRT). Experiments were performed to determine headphones effects on the SRT and to establish normative data. Participants consisted of 40 normal-hearing subjects with thresholds ≤15 dB across the frequency spectrum (250-8000 Hz) and 186 subjects with normal-hearing in both ears, or normal-hearing in the better ear. The results show steep speech recognition functions with a slope of 20%/dB for digit-triplets presented in noise using the smartphone application. The results of five headphone types indicate that the smartphone-based hearing test is reliable and can be conducted using standard Android smartphone headphones or clinical headphones. A digits-in-noise hearing test was developed and validated for South Africa. The mean SRT and speech recognition functions correspond to previous developed telephone-based digits-in-noise tests.

Investigating the Use of a Smartphone Social Networking Application on Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sung, Ko-Yin; Poole, Frederick

2017-01-01

This study explored college students' use of a popular smartphone social networking application, WeChat, in a tandem language learning project. The research questions included (1) How do Chinese-English dyads utilize the WeChat app for weekly language learning?, and (2) What are the perceptions of the Chinese-English dyads on the use of the WeChat…

The Sound and Feel of Titrations: A Smartphone Aid for Color-Blind and Visually Impaired Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bandyopadhyay, Subhajit; Rathod, Balraj B.

2017-01-01

An Android-based application has been developed to provide color-blind and visually impaired students a multisensory perception of color change observed in a titration. The application records and converts the color information into beep sounds and vibration pulses, which are generated by the smartphone. It uses a range threshold of hue and…

Pokémon GO: An innovative smartphone gaming application with health benefits.

PubMed

Kamboj, Amrit K; Krishna, Somashekar G

2017-08-01

Obesity is a leading public health epidemic worldwide and its prevalence is increasing. While diet and exercise are the cornerstones in the prevention and treatment of obesity and its associated complications, patients often find it difficult to make lifestyle changes. Smartphones are increasingly becoming integrated into our society and can serve as a tool to improve health outcomes. Here, we illustrate the positive health impacts of an innovative smartphone gaming application, Pokémon GO (Niantic Incorporation, San Francisco, California), which is used by millions of users worldwide. The aim of this game is to catch fictional characters known as Pokémon, which users encounter when walking around as opposed to traditional stationary-seated games. Sedentary lifestyle has long been associated with increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Pokémon GO exemplifies a highly successful smartphone application promoting health specifically by rewarding the simplest effective exercise of walking. This application, while representing the next interactive level of gaming, is as an important example of how positive reinforcement can serve as a successful motivation technique. Copyright © 2017 Primary Care Diabetes Europe. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Guided and unguided Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for social anxiety disorder and/or panic disorder provided via the Internet and a smartphone application: A randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Ivanova, Ekaterina; Lindner, Philip; Ly, Kien Hoa; Dahlin, Mats; Vernmark, Kristofer; Andersson, Gerhard; Carlbring, Per

2016-12-01

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can be effective in treating anxiety disorders, yet there has been no study on Internet-delivered ACT for social anxiety disorder (SAD) and panic disorder (PD), nor any study investigating whether therapist guidance is superior to unguided self-help when supplemented with a smartphone application. In the current trial, n=152 participants diagnosed with SAD and/or PD were randomized to therapist-guided or unguided treatment, or a waiting-list control group. Both treatment groups used an Internet-delivered ACT-based treatment program and a smartphone application. Outcome measures were self-rated general and social anxiety and panic symptoms. Treatment groups saw reduced general (d=0.39) and social anxiety (d=0.70), but not panic symptoms (d=0.05) compared to the waiting-list group, yet no differences in outcomes were observed between guided and unguided interventions. We conclude that Internet-delivered ACT is appropriate for treating SAD and potentially PD. Smartphone applications may partially compensate for lack of therapist support. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Correlates of Awareness of and Willingness to Use Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) in Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men Who Use Geosocial-Networking Smartphone Applications in New York City.

PubMed

Goedel, William C; Halkitis, Perry N; Greene, Richard E; Duncan, Dustin T

2016-07-01

Geosocial-networking smartphone applications are commonly used by gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) to meet sexual partners. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate awareness of and willingness to use pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among MSM who use geosocial-networking smartphone applications residing in New York City. Recruitment utilizing broadcast advertisements on a popular smartphone application for MSM yielded a sample of 152 HIV-uninfected MSM. Multivariable models were used to assess demographic and behavioral correlates of awareness of and willingness to use PrEP. Most participants (85.5 %) had heard about PrEP but few (9.2 %) reported current use. Unwillingness to use PrEP was associated with concerns about side effects (PR = 0.303; 95 % CI 0.130, 0.708; p = 0.006). Given that more than half (57.6 %) of participants were willing to use PrEP, future research is needed to elucidate both individual and structural barriers to PrEP use among MSM.

Radiation dosimetry properties of smartphone CMOS sensors.

PubMed

Van Hoey, Olivier; Salavrakos, Alexia; Marques, Antonio; Nagao, Alexandre; Willems, Ruben; Vanhavere, Filip; Cauwels, Vanessa; Nascimento, Luana F

2016-03-01

During the past years, several smartphone applications have been developed for radiation detection. These applications measure radiation using the smartphone camera complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor sensor. They are potentially useful for data collection and personal dose assessment in case of a radiological incident. However, it is important to assess these applications. Six applications were tested by means of irradiations with calibrated X-ray and gamma sources. It was shown that the measurement stabilises only after at least 10-25 min. All applications exhibited a flat dose rate response in the studied ambient dose equivalent range from 2 to 1000 μSv h(-1). Most applications significantly over- or underestimate the dose rate or are not calibrated in terms of dose rate. A considerable energy dependence was observed below 100 keV but not for the higher energy range more relevant for incident scenarios. Photon impact angle variation gave a measured signal variation of only about 10 %. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Review of Smartphone Applications for the Treatment of Eating Disorders

PubMed Central

Juarascio, Adrienne S.; Manasse, Stephanie M.; Goldstein, Stephanie P.; Forman, Evan M.; Butryn, Meghan L.

2016-01-01

mHealth tools may be a feasible modality for delivering evidence-based treatments and principles (EBPs), and may enhance treatment for eating disorders (EDs). However, research on the efficacy of mHealth tools for EDs and the extent to which they include EBPs is lacking. The current study sought to (i) review existing apps for EDs, (ii) determine the extent to which available treatment apps utilize EBPs, and (iii) assess the degree to which existing smartphone apps utilize recent advances in smartphone technology. Overall, existing ED intervention apps contained minimal EBPs and failed to incorporate smartphone capabilities. For smartphone apps to be a feasible and effective ED treatment modality, it may be useful for creators to begin taking utilizing the abilities that set smartphones apart from in-person treatment while incorporating EBPs. Before mHealth tools are incorporated into treatments for EDs, it is necessary that the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy be evaluated. PMID:25303148

Analysis of a Smartphone-Based Architecture with Multiple Mobility Sensors for Fall Detection

PubMed Central

Santoyo-Ramón, Jose Antonio; Cano-García, Jose Manuel

2016-01-01

During the last years, many research efforts have been devoted to the definition of Fall Detection Systems (FDSs) that benefit from the inherent computing, communication and sensing capabilities of smartphones. However, employing a smartphone as the unique sensor in a FDS application entails several disadvantages as long as an accurate characterization of the patient’s mobility may force to transport this personal device on an unnatural position. This paper presents a smartphone-based architecture for the automatic detection of falls. The system incorporates a set of small sensing motes that can communicate with the smartphone to help in the fall detection decision. The deployed architecture is systematically evaluated in a testbed with experimental users in order to determine the number and positions of the sensors that optimize the effectiveness of the FDS, as well as to assess the most convenient role of the smartphone in the architecture. PMID:27930736

Analysis of a Smartphone-Based Architecture with Multiple Mobility Sensors for Fall Detection.

PubMed

Casilari, Eduardo; Santoyo-Ramón, Jose Antonio; Cano-García, Jose Manuel

2016-01-01

During the last years, many research efforts have been devoted to the definition of Fall Detection Systems (FDSs) that benefit from the inherent computing, communication and sensing capabilities of smartphones. However, employing a smartphone as the unique sensor in a FDS application entails several disadvantages as long as an accurate characterization of the patient's mobility may force to transport this personal device on an unnatural position. This paper presents a smartphone-based architecture for the automatic detection of falls. The system incorporates a set of small sensing motes that can communicate with the smartphone to help in the fall detection decision. The deployed architecture is systematically evaluated in a testbed with experimental users in order to determine the number and positions of the sensors that optimize the effectiveness of the FDS, as well as to assess the most convenient role of the smartphone in the architecture.

A Review of Smartphone Applications for Promoting Physical Activity

PubMed Central

Coughlin, Steven S.; Whitehead, Mary; Sheats, Joyce Q.; Mastromonico, Jeff; Smith, Selina

2016-01-01

Introduction Rapid developments in technology have encouraged the use of smartphones in health promotion research and practice. Although many applications (apps) relating to physical activity are available from major smartphone platforms, relatively few have been tested in research studies to determine their effectiveness in promoting health. Methods In this article, we summarize data on use of smartphone apps for promoting physical activity based upon bibliographic searches with relevant search terms in PubMed and CINAHL. Results After screening the abstracts or full texts of articles, 15 eligible studies of the acceptability or efficacy of smartphone apps for increasing physical activity were identified. Of the 15 included studies, 6 were qualitative research studies, 8 were randomized control trials, and one was a nonrandomized study with a pre-post design. The results indicate that smartphone apps can be efficacious in promoting physical activity although the magnitude of the intervention effect is modest. Participants of various ages and genders respond favorably to apps that automatically track physical activity (e.g., steps taken), track progress toward physical activity goals, and are user-friendly and flexible enough for use with several types of physical activity. Discussion Future studies should utilize randomized controlled trial research designs, larger sample sizes, and longer study periods to establish the physical activity measurement and intervention capabilities of smartphones. There is a need for culturally appropriate, tailored health messages to increase knowledge and awareness of health behaviors such as physical activity. PMID:27034992

Using Smartphones to Detect Earthquakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kong, Q.; Allen, R. M.

2012-12-01

We are using the accelerometers in smartphones to record earthquakes. In the future, these smartphones may work as a supplement network to the current traditional network for scientific research and real-time applications. Given the potential number of smartphones, and small separation of sensors, this new type of seismic dataset has significant potential provides that the signal can be separated from the noise. We developed an application for android phones to record the acceleration in real time. These records can be saved on the local phone or transmitted back to a server in real time. The accelerometers in the phones were evaluated by comparing performance with a high quality accelerometer while located on controlled shake tables for a variety of tests. The results show that the accelerometer in the smartphone can reproduce the characteristic of the shaking very well, even the phone left freely on the shake table. The nature of these datasets is also quite different from traditional networks due to the fact that smartphones are moving around with their owners. Therefore, we must distinguish earthquake signals from other daily use. In addition to the shake table tests that accumulated earthquake records, we also recorded different human activities such as running, walking, driving etc. An artificial neural network based approach was developed to distinguish these different records. It shows a 99.7% successful rate of distinguishing earthquakes from the other typical human activities in our database. We are now at the stage ready to develop the basic infrastructure for a smartphone seismic network.

A Smartphone Application for Customized Frequency Table Selection in Cochlear Implants.

PubMed

Jethanamest, Daniel; Azadpour, Mahan; Zeman, Annette M; Sagi, Elad; Svirsky, Mario A

2017-09-01

A novel smartphone-based software application can facilitate self-selection of frequency allocation tables (FAT) in postlingually deaf cochlear implant (CI) users. CIs use FATs to represent the tonotopic organization of a normal cochlea. Current CI fitting methods typically use a standard FAT for all patients regardless of individual differences in cochlear size and electrode location. In postlingually deaf patients, different amounts of mismatch can result between the frequency-place function they experienced when they had normal hearing and the frequency-place function that results from the standard FAT. For some CI users, an alternative FAT may enhance sound quality or speech perception. Currently, no widely available tools exist to aid real-time selection of different FATs. This study aims to develop a new smartphone tool for this purpose and to evaluate speech perception and sound quality measures in a pilot study of CI subjects using this application. A smartphone application for a widely available mobile platform (iOS) was developed to serve as a preprocessor of auditory input to a clinical CI speech processor and enable interactive real-time selection of FATs. The application's output was validated by measuring electrodograms for various inputs. A pilot study was conducted in six CI subjects. Speech perception was evaluated using word recognition tests. All subjects successfully used the portable application with their clinical speech processors to experience different FATs while listening to running speech. The users were all able to select one table that they judged provided the best sound quality. All subjects chose a FAT different from the standard FAT in their everyday clinical processor. Using the smartphone application, the mean consonant-nucleus-consonant score with the default FAT selection was 28.5% (SD 16.8) and 29.5% (SD 16.4) when using a self-selected FAT. A portable smartphone application enables CI users to self-select frequency allocation tables in real time. Even though the self-selected FATs that were deemed to have better sound quality were only tested acutely (i.e., without long-term experience with them), speech perception scores were not inferior to those obtained with the clinical FATs. This software application may be a valuable tool for improving future methods of CI fitting.

Current status of postnatal depression smartphone applications available on application stores: an information quality analysis.

PubMed

Zhang, Melvyn Wb; Ho, Roger Cm; Loh, Alvona; Wing, Tracey; Wynne, Olivia; Chan, Sally Wai Chi; Car, Josip; Fung, Daniel Shuen Sheng

2017-11-14

It is the aim of the current research to identify some common functionalities of postnatal application, and to determine the quality of the information content of postnatal depression application using validated scales that have been applied for applications in other specialties. To determine the information quality of the postnatal depression smartphone applications, the two most widely used smartphone application stores, namely Apple iTunes as well as Google Android Play store, were searched between 20May and 31 May. No participants were involved. The inclusion criteria for the application were that it must have been searchable using the keywords 'postnatal', 'pregnancy', 'perinatal', 'postpartum' and 'depression', and must be in English language. The Silberg Scale was used in the assessment of the information quality of the smartphone applications. The information quality score was the primary outcome measure. Our current results highlighted that while there is currently a myriad of applications, only 14 applications are specifically focused on postnatal depression. In addition, the majority of the currently available applications on the store have only disclosed their last date of modification as well as ownership. There remain very limited disclosures about the information of the authors, as well as the references for the information included in the application itself. The average score for the Silberg Scale for the postnatal applications we have analysed is 3.0. There remains a need for healthcare professionals and developers to jointly conceptualise new applications with better information quality and evidence base. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Self-management of diabetes in children and young adults using technology and smartphone applications.

PubMed

Sheehy, Siobhan; Cohen, Georgia; Owen, Katharine R

2014-01-01

Treatment compliance and adherence are often a challenge in patients with type 1 diabetes, particularly for adolescent and young adult patients. With the availability of the internet and smart phone applications (apps) there is a hope that such technology could provide a means to encourage treatment adherence in this group of patients. This review focuses on whether telemedicine and smartphone technology in diabetes can influence self-management in young people with diabetes. A large number of smartphone apps are targeted at people with diabetes, but a limited number of well designed evaluation studies have been performed. As our review shows, the evidence base for efficacy of most of these applications is minimal and improvement in hard outcomes such as HbA1c and complication development is largely lacking.

Implicit theory manipulations affecting efficacy of a smartphone application aiding speech therapy for Parkinson's patients.

PubMed

Nolan, Peter; Hoskins, Sherria; Johnson, Julia; Powell, Vaughan; Chaudhuri, K Ray; Eglin, Roger

2012-01-01

A Smartphone speech-therapy application (STA) is being developed, intended for people with Parkinson's disease (PD) with reduced implicit volume cues. The STA offers visual volume feedback, addressing diminished auditory cues. Users are typically older adults, less familiar with new technology. Domain-specific implicit theories (ITs) have been shown to result in mastery or helpless behaviors. Studies manipulating participants' implicit theories of 'technology' (Study One), and 'ability to affect one's voice' (Study Two), were coordinated with iterative STA test-stages, using patients with PD with prior speech-therapist referrals. Across studies, findings suggest it is possible to manipulate patients' ITs related to engaging with a Smartphone STA. This potentially impacts initial application approach and overall effort using a technology-based therapy.

Smartphone Applications in Palliative Homecare

PubMed Central

Dhiliwal, Sunil R; Salins, Naveen

2015-01-01

Smartphone applications in healthcare delivery are a novel concept and is rapidly gaining ground in all fields of medicine. The modes of e-communications such as e-mail, short message service (SMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS) and WhatsApp in palliative care provides a means for quick tele-consultation, information sharing, cuts the waiting time and facilitates initiation of the treatment at the earliest. It also forms a means of communication with local general practitioner and local health care provider such that continuity of the care is maintained. It also minimizes needless transport of the patient to hospital, prevents needless hospitalization and investigations and minimizes cost and logistics involved in the care process. The two case studies provided highlights the use of smartphone application like WhatsApp in palliative care practice and demonstrates its utility. PMID:25709195

Using SWE Standards for Ubiquitous Environmental Sensing: A Performance Analysis

PubMed Central

Tamayo, Alain; Granell, Carlos; Huerta, Joaquín

2012-01-01

Although smartphone applications represent the most typical data consumer tool from the citizen perspective in environmental applications, they can also be used for in-situ data collection and production in varied scenarios, such as geological sciences and biodiversity. The use of standard protocols, such as SWE, to exchange information between smartphones and sensor infrastructures brings benefits such as interoperability and scalability, but their reliance on XML is a potential problem when large volumes of data are transferred, due to limited bandwidth and processing capabilities on mobile phones. In this article we present a performance analysis about the use of SWE standards in smartphone applications to consume and produce environmental sensor data, analysing to what extent the performance problems related to XML can be alleviated by using alternative uncompressed and compressed formats.

Smartphone app design for the wireless control of a neuromuscular electrical stimulator device with integrated randomization allocation process for RCT applications.

PubMed

Sweeney, Dean; Quinlan, Leo R; OLaighin, Gearoid

2015-08-01

The use of NMES has evolved over the last five decades. Technological advancements have transformed these once complex systems into user-friendly devices with enhanced control functions, leading to new applications of NMES being investigated. The use of Randomized Control Trial (RCT) methodology in evaluating the effectiveness of new and existing applications of NMES is a demanding process adding time and cost to a translation into clinical practice. Poor quality trials may result in poor evidence of NMES effectiveness. In this paper some of the key challenges encountered in NMES clinical trials are identified with the aim of purposing a solution to address these challenges through the adoption of Smartphone technology. The design and evaluation of a smartphone application to provide automatic blind randomization control and facilitating the wireless temporal control of a portable Bluetooth enabled NMES is presented.

Smartphone Applications for Patients' Health and Fitness.

PubMed

Higgins, John P

2016-01-01

Healthcare providers are often looking for ways to objectively monitor and improve their patients' health and fitness, especially in between patient visits. Some insurance companies are using applications data as incentives to improve health and lower premiums. As more and more people start to use smartphones, they may provide a tool to help improve a patient's health and fitness. Specifically, fitness applications or "apps" on smartphones are programs that use data collected from a smartphone's inbuilt tools, such as the Global Positioning System, accelerometer, microphone, speaker, and camera, to measure health and fitness parameters. The apps then analyze these data and summarize them, as well as devise individualized plans based on users' goals, provide frequent feedback, personalized coaching, and additional motivation by allowing milestones to be shared on social media. This article introduces evidence that apps can better help patients reach their health and fitness goals. It then discusses what features to look for in an app, followed by an overview of popular health and fitness apps. Last, patient scenarios with app recommendations, limitations of apps, and future research are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using software-modified smartphones to validate self-reported mobile phone use in young people: A pilot study.

PubMed

Goedhart, Geertje; Vrijheid, Martine; Wiart, Joe; Hours, Martine; Kromhout, Hans; Cardis, Elisabeth; Eastman Langer, Chelsea; de Llobet Viladoms, Patricia; Massardier-Pilonchery, Amelie; Vermeulen, Roel

2015-10-01

A newly developed smartphone application was piloted to characterize and validate mobile phone use in young people. Twenty-six volunteers (mean age 17.3 years) from France, Spain, and the Netherlands used a software-modified smartphone for 4 weeks; the application installed on the phone recorded number and duration of calls, data use, laterality, hands-free device usage, and communication system used for both voice calls and data transfer. Upon returning the phone, participants estimated their mobile phone use during those 4 weeks via an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Results indicated that participants on average underestimated the number of calls they made, while they overestimated total call duration. Participants held the phone for about 90% of total call time near the head, mainly on the side of the head they reported as dominant. Some limitations were encountered when comparing reported and recorded data use and speaker use. When applied in a larger sample, information recorded by the smartphone application will be very useful to improve radiofrequency (RF) exposure modeling from mobile phones to be used in epidemiological research. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Investigating the use of smartphones for learning purposes by Australian dental students.

PubMed

Rung, Andrea; Warnke, Frauke; Mattheos, Nikos

2014-04-30

Mobile Internet devices and smartphones have at present a significant potential as learning tools and the development of educational interventions based on smartphones have attracted increasing attention. The objective of this study was to obtain a deeper insight in the nature of students' use of smartphones, as well as their attitudes towards educational use of mobile devices in order to design successful teaching interventions. A questionnaire was designed, aiming to investigate the actual daily habitual use, as well as the attitudes of dental students towards smartphones for their university education purposes. The survey was used to collect data from 232 dental students. Of the 232 respondents, 204 (87.9%) owned a smartphone, and 191 (82.3%) had access to third generation (3G) mobile carriers. The most popular devices were the iPhone and Android. Most of the respondents had intermediate smartphone skills and used smartphones for a number of learning activities. Only 75/232 (32.3%) had specific educational applications installed, while 148/232 (63.7%) used smartphones to access to social media and found it valuable for their education (P<.05). Students accessing social media with their smartphones also showed significantly more advanced skills with smartphones than those who did not (P<.05). There was no significant association between age group, gender, origin, and smartphone skills. There was positive correlation between smartphone skills and students' attitudes toward improving access to learning material (r=.43, P<.05), helping to learn more independently (r=.44, P<.05), and use of smartphones by teaching staff (r=.45, P<.05). The results in this study suggest that students use smartphones and social media for their education even though this technology has not been formally included in the curriculum. This might present an opportunity for educators to design educational methods, activities, and material that are suitable for smartphones and allow students to use this technology, thereby accommodating students' current diverse learning approaches.

Investigating the Use of Smartphones for Learning Purposes by Australian Dental Students

PubMed Central

Rung, Andrea; Warnke, Frauke

2014-01-01

Background Mobile Internet devices and smartphones have at present a significant potential as learning tools and the development of educational interventions based on smartphones have attracted increasing attention. Objective The objective of this study was to obtain a deeper insight in the nature of students’ use of smartphones, as well as their attitudes towards educational use of mobile devices in order to design successful teaching interventions. Method A questionnaire was designed, aiming to investigate the actual daily habitual use, as well as the attitudes of dental students towards smartphones for their university education purposes. The survey was used to collect data from 232 dental students. Results Of the 232 respondents, 204 (87.9%) owned a smartphone, and 191 (82.3%) had access to third generation (3G) mobile carriers. The most popular devices were the iPhone and Android. Most of the respondents had intermediate smartphone skills and used smartphones for a number of learning activities. Only 75/232 (32.3%) had specific educational applications installed, while 148/232 (63.7%) used smartphones to access to social media and found it valuable for their education (P<.05). Students accessing social media with their smartphones also showed significantly more advanced skills with smartphones than those who did not (P<.05). There was no significant association between age group, gender, origin, and smartphone skills. There was positive correlation between smartphone skills and students' attitudes toward improving access to learning material (r=.43, P<.05), helping to learn more independently (r=.44, P<.05), and use of smartphones by teaching staff (r=.45, P<.05). Conclusion The results in this study suggest that students use smartphones and social media for their education even though this technology has not been formally included in the curriculum. This might present an opportunity for educators to design educational methods, activities, and material that are suitable for smartphones and allow students to use this technology, thereby accommodating students’ current diverse learning approaches. PMID:25099261

Development and feasibility of smartphone application for cognitive-behavioural case management of individuals with early psychosis.

PubMed

Kim, Sung-Wan; Lee, Ga-Young; Yu, Hye-Young; Jung, Eun-I; Lee, Ju-Yeon; Kim, Seon-Young; Kim, Jae-Min; Shin, Il-Seon; Yoon, Jin-Sang

2017-05-18

This article describes the development of the smartphone application for cognitive-behavioural case management of young individuals with early psychosis and examines the acceptance and potential clinical benefits of this application through a pilot survey. Gwangju Bukgu-Community Mental Health Center developed and launched a smartphone application (Heal Your Mind [HYM]) for cognitive-behavioural case management and symptom monitoring. The HYM application for clients includes 6 main modules including thought record, symptom record, daily life record, official notices, communication and scales. The key module is the "thought record" for self-directed cognitive-behavioural treatment. When the client writes and sends the self-cognitive-behavioural therapy sheet to the case manager, the latter receives a notification and can provide feedback in real time. We conducted a survey to investigate the acceptance and feasibility of this approach among young clients with early psychosis. A total of 24 clients with early psychosis participated in this survey. More than 80% of participants reported that it was easy to learn to use this application, and no one described this application as very complicated or reported that they needed a long time to learn how to use it. About 80% of participants were satisfied with this application, and 70% reported that they received help as a result of using this application. This study suggests that this smartphone application is useful for young individuals with early psychosis and that it may contribute to the development of both young customer- and case manager-friendly systems for this clinical population. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Development and implementation of a smartphone application to promote physical activity and reduce screen-time in adolescent boys.

PubMed

Lubans, David R; Smith, Jordan J; Skinner, Geoff; Morgan, Philip J

2014-01-01

To describe the development and implementation of a smartphone application (app) designed to promote physical activity and reduce screen-time in adolescent boys considered "at-risk" of obesity. An app was developed to support the delivery of a face-to-face school-based obesity prevention program known as the "Active Teen Leaders Avoiding Screen-time" (ATLAS) program. ATLAS was guided by self-determination theory and social cognitive theory and evaluated using a cluster randomized controlled trial with 361 boys (12.7 ± 0.5 years) in 14 secondary schools. Following the completion of the study, participants in the intervention group completed a process evaluation questionnaire and focus groups were conducted with 42 students to explore their general perceptions of the ATLAS program and their experience with the smartphone app. Barriers and challenges encountered in the development, implementation, and evaluation of the app are also described. Participation in the study was not contingent on ownership of a smartphone, but 70% of participants in the intervention group reported having access to a smartphone or tablet device. Focus group participants reported an enjoyment of the program, and felt that it had provided them with new skills, techniques, and routines for the future. However, their engagement with the smartphone app was limited, due to a variety of reasons. Barriers to the implementation and evaluation of the app included limited access to smartphone devices, technical problems with the push notifications, lack of access to usage data, and the challenges of maintaining participants' interest in using the app. Although participants reported high levels of satisfaction with the ATLAS program in general, the smartphone app was not used extensively. Additional strategies and features may be needed to enhance engagement in adolescent boys.

The Benefit of the Smartphone in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: Smartphone Use Among Maxillofacial Surgery Trainees and iPhone Apps for the Maxillofacial Surgeon.

PubMed

Carey, Elinor; Payne, Karl Frederick Braekkan; Ahmed, Nabeela; Goodson, Alexander

2015-06-01

The use of smartphones has soared among healthcare professionals in recent years, with estimated figures reporting that the majority of clinicians own and use smartphones in the workplace. Smartphones allow the clinician to carry textbooks in their pocket, write documents on the move and use email and internet to enhance productivity and clinical decision making. These advances in smartphone technology have enabled access to healthcare information for the clinician and transfer of data between team members, giving rise to the phenomenon of telemedicine. With the ability to instantly transfer clinical data to the off-site surgeon, combined with purpose-built medical apps, the smartphone is rapidly becoming an invaluable tool for the modern surgeon. Many studies have linked the benefits of smartphones and apps in other surgical specialities, but no article to date has highlighted the merits and full scope of this technology to the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon. We report that 94 % of British maxillofacial surgery trainees own a smartphone, with 61 % owning an iPhone. 89 % of trainees questioned had downloaded medical apps and used them regularly during clinical activities. We discuss the clinical application of the smartphone in the field of oral and maxillofacial surgery and review a list of useful and relevant apps for the modern maxillofacial surgeon using the iPhone as an example platform.

Citizen sensors for SHM: use of accelerometer data from smartphones.

PubMed

Feng, Maria; Fukuda, Yoshio; Mizuta, Masato; Ozer, Ekin

2015-01-29

Ubiquitous smartphones have created a significant opportunity to form a low-cost wireless Citizen Sensor network and produce big data for monitoring structural integrity and safety under operational and extreme loads. Such data are particularly useful for rapid assessment of structural damage in a large urban setting after a major event such as an earthquake. This study explores the utilization of smartphone accelerometers for measuring structural vibration, from which structural health and post-event damage can be diagnosed. Widely available smartphones are tested under sinusoidal wave excitations with frequencies in the range relevant to civil engineering structures. Large-scale seismic shaking table tests, observing input ground motion and response of a structural model, are carried out to evaluate the accuracy of smartphone accelerometers under operational, white-noise and earthquake excitations of different intensity. Finally, the smartphone accelerometers are tested on a dynamically loaded bridge. The extensive experiments show satisfactory agreements between the reference and smartphone sensor measurements in both time and frequency domains, demonstrating the capability of the smartphone sensors to measure structural responses ranging from low-amplitude ambient vibration to high-amplitude seismic response. Encouraged by the results of this study, the authors are developing a citizen-engaging and data-analytics crowdsourcing platform towards a smartphone-based Citizen Sensor network for structural health monitoring and post-event damage assessment applications.

Smartphone dependence classification using tensor factorization.

PubMed

Choi, Jingyun; Rho, Mi Jung; Kim, Yejin; Yook, In Hye; Yu, Hwanjo; Kim, Dai-Jin; Choi, In Young

2017-01-01

Excessive smartphone use causes personal and social problems. To address this issue, we sought to derive usage patterns that were directly correlated with smartphone dependence based on usage data. This study attempted to classify smartphone dependence using a data-driven prediction algorithm. We developed a mobile application to collect smartphone usage data. A total of 41,683 logs of 48 smartphone users were collected from March 8, 2015, to January 8, 2016. The participants were classified into the control group (SUC) or the addiction group (SUD) using the Korean Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale for Adults (S-Scale) and a face-to-face offline interview by a psychiatrist and a clinical psychologist (SUC = 23 and SUD = 25). We derived usage patterns using tensor factorization and found the following six optimal usage patterns: 1) social networking services (SNS) during daytime, 2) web surfing, 3) SNS at night, 4) mobile shopping, 5) entertainment, and 6) gaming at night. The membership vectors of the six patterns obtained a significantly better prediction performance than the raw data. For all patterns, the usage times of the SUD were much longer than those of the SUC. From our findings, we concluded that usage patterns and membership vectors were effective tools to assess and predict smartphone dependence and could provide an intervention guideline to predict and treat smartphone dependence based on usage data.

Use of Smartphones for Clinical and Medical Education.

PubMed

Valle, Jazmine; Godby, Tyler; Paul, David P; Smith, Harlan; Coustasse, Alberto

Smartphone use in clinical settings and in medical education has been on the rise, benefiting both health care and health care providers. Studies have shown, however, that some health care facilities and providers are reluctant to switch to smartphones due to the threat of mixing personal apps with clinical care applications and the possibility that distraction created by smartphone use could lead to medication errors and errors linked to procedures, treatments, or tests. The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of smartphones in a clinical setting and for medical education, to determine their overall impact. The methodology for this qualitative study was a literature review, conducted over five electronic databases. The search was limited to articles published in English, between 2010 and 2016. Forty-one sources that focused on the implementation of and the barriers to use of smartphones in clinical and medical education environments were referenced. These studies revealed that smartphones have more positive than negative effects on the ability to enhance patient care and medical education. Smartphone use is clearly an effective and efficient method of enhancing patient care and medical education in the health care industry. Access to health care as well is enhanced by the use of this tool.

Are Physicians Likely to Adopt Emerging Mobile Technologies? Attitudes and Innovation Factors Affecting Smartphone Use in the Southeastern United States

PubMed Central

Putzer, Gavin J; Park, Yangil

2012-01-01

The smartphone has emerged as an important technological device to assist physicians with medical decision making, clinical tasks, and other computing functions. A smartphone is a device that combines mobile telecommunication with Internet accessibility as well as word processing. Moreover, smartphones have additional features such as applications pertinent to clinical medicine and practice management. The purpose of this study was to investigate the innovation factors that affect a physician's decision to adopt an emerging mobile technological device such as a smartphone. The study sample consisted of 103 physicians from community hospitals and academic medical centers in the southeastern United States. Innovation factors are elements that affect an individual's attitude toward using and adopting an emerging technology. In our model, the innovation characteristics of compatibility, job relevance, the internal environment, observability, personal experience, and the external environment were all significant predictors of attitude toward using a smartphone. These influential innovation factors presumably are salient predictors of a physician's attitude toward using a smartphone to assist with clinical tasks. Health information technology devices such as smartphones offer promise as a means to improve clinical efficiency, medical quality, and care coordination and possibly reduce healthcare costs. PMID:22737094

A smartphone application to educate undergraduate nursing students about providing care for infant airway obstruction.

PubMed

Kim, Shin-Jeong; Shin, Hyewon; Lee, Jungeun; Kang, SoRa; Bartlett, Robin

2017-01-01

This study had two aims: (a) to develop a smartphone-based application and (b) to evaluate the effectiveness of the application by measuring nursing students' knowledge, skills, and confidence in simulated performance when providing that care. We conducted a randomized trial using a pre- and post-test design at a university in Korea. Seventy-three junior nursing students participated. A smartphone-based app using a video was developed for the experimental group and one time lecture-based education was designed for the control group. We provided the app and information about its use to the experimental group, and we encouraged its use. We provided classroom instruction to the control group. Then, learning outcomes were evaluated. The smartphone-based education group showed significantly higher scores on skills (t=4.774, p<0.001) and confidence in performance (t=2.888, p=0.005) than the control group. The scores on knowledge (t=0.886, p=0.379) and satisfaction with the learning method (t=0.168, p=0.867) for the experimental group were higher than for the control group, but the differences were not statistically significant. This study suggests that smartphone-based education may be an effective method to use in nursing education related to teaching infant airway obstruction. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated Smartphone Threshold Audiometry: Validity and Time Efficiency.

PubMed

van Tonder, Jessica; Swanepoel, De Wet; Mahomed-Asmail, Faheema; Myburgh, Hermanus; Eikelboom, Robert H

2017-03-01

Smartphone-based threshold audiometry with automated testing has the potential to provide affordable access to audiometry in underserved contexts. To validate the threshold version (hearTest) of the validated hearScreen™ smartphone-based application using inexpensive smartphones (Android operating system) and calibrated supra-aural headphones. A repeated measures within-participant study design was employed to compare air-conduction thresholds (0.5-8 kHz) obtained through automated smartphone audiometry to thresholds obtained through conventional audiometry. A total of 95 participants were included in the study. Of these, 30 were adults, who had known bilateral hearing losses of varying degrees (mean age = 59 yr, standard deviation [SD] = 21.8; 56.7% female), and 65 were adolescents (mean age = 16.5 yr, SD = 1.2; 70.8% female), of which 61 had normal hearing and the remaining 4 had mild hearing losses. Threshold comparisons were made between the two test procedures. The Wilcoxon signed-ranked test was used for comparison of threshold correspondence between manual and smartphone thresholds and the paired samples t test was used to compare test time. Within the adult sample, 94.4% of thresholds obtained through smartphone and conventional audiometry corresponded within 10 dB or less. There was no significant difference between smartphone (6.75-min average, SD = 1.5) and conventional audiometry test duration (6.65-min average, SD = 2.5). Within the adolescent sample, 84.7% of thresholds obtained at 0.5, 2, and 4 kHz with hearTest and conventional audiometry corresponded within ≤5 dB. At 1 kHz, 79.3% of the thresholds differed by ≤10 dB. There was a significant difference (p < 0.01) between smartphone (7.09 min, SD = 1.2) and conventional audiometry test duration (3.23 min, SD = 0.6). The hearTest application with calibrated supra-aural headphones provides a cost-effective option to determine valid air-conduction hearing thresholds. American Academy of Audiology

Evaluation of existing smartphone applications and data needs for travel survey.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-02-01

This project develops a smartphone-based prototype system that supplements the 511 system to improve its dynamic traffic : routing service to state highway users under non-recurrent congestion. This system will save considerable time to provide cruci...

Validity of smartphone pedometer applications.

PubMed

Orr, Krystn; Howe, Holly S; Omran, Janine; Smith, Kristina A; Palmateer, Tess M; Ma, Alvin E; Faulkner, Guy

2015-11-30

Given the widespread use of smartphone pedometer applications and the relatively limited number of published validity tests, this study examined the validity of three popular commercial smartphone pedometer applications (i.e., Accupedo, Moves, and Runtastic Pedometer). Convenience samples of males and females were recruited for laboratory tests [n = 11; mean: aged 24.18 years (±3.06)] and a free-living test [n = 18; mean: aged 28.78 years (±9.52)]. Five conditions were assessed: (a) 20-step test, (b) 40-step stair climbing, (c) treadmill walking and running at different speeds, (d) driving, and (e) 3-day free-living. The Yamax SW-200 pedometer and observed step counts were used as criterion measures. Analyses identified an unacceptable error percentage in all of the applications compared to the pedometer. Given the inaccuracy of these applications, caution is required in their promotion to the public for self-monitoring physical activity and in their use as tools for assessing physical activity in research trials.

Effects of a smartphone application on breast self-examination: a feasibility study.

PubMed

Heo, Jaesung; Chun, Mison; Lee, Ki Young; Oh, Young-Taek; Noh, O Kyu; Park, Rae Woong

2013-12-01

The aims of this study were to develop a smartphone application to encourage breast self-examination (BSE), and to evaluate the effects of this application in terms of modifying BSE behavior. A smartphone application, based on the Android OS, was developed with functions including a BSE date alarm, a reminder to encourage mother and daughter to practice BSE together, record keeping, and educational content with video clips. Females aged 19 and over were enrolled to evaluate the effectiveness of the application. Two series of questionnaires were carried out (before and after use of the application) by e-mail, telephone, and face-to-face interviews between July and September 2012. Forty-five subjects were enrolled in the study (age 29.5-5.9 years). Of the participants, only 28 (62.2%) had ever practiced BSE and only one of these (2.2%) was carried out at the appropriate time, based on the results of the baseline survey. After using the application, the number of participants practicing BSE increased from 28 to 32 (62.2% to 71.1%, p = 0.503). In subgroup analysis (age < 30 years), the number of participants using BSE increased from 8 to 18 (36.4% to 81.8%, p = 0.002), and the number of those using it at the appropriate time rose from 1 to 15 (2.2% to 33.3%, p < 0.001). The use of the developed smartphone application increased BSE in females younger than 30 years. To confirm the long-term benefits of the mobile application, additional studies must be carried out.

A method of designing smartphone interface based on the extended user's mental model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Wei; Li, Fengmin; Bian, Jiali; Pan, Juchen; Song, Song

2017-01-01

The user's mental model is the core guiding theory of product design, especially practical products. The essence of practical product is a tool which is used by users to meet their needs. Then, the most important feature of a tool is usability. The design method based on the user's mental model provides a series of practical and feasible theoretical guidance for improving the usability of the product according to the user's awareness of things. In this paper, we propose a method of designing smartphone interface based on the extended user's mental model according to further research on user groups. This approach achieves personalized customization of smartphone application interface and enhance application using efficiency.

Evaluation of smartphone sound measurement applications.

PubMed

Kardous, Chucri A; Shaw, Peter B

2014-04-01

This study reports on the accuracy of smartphone sound measurement applications (apps) and whether they can be appropriately employed for occupational noise measurements. A representative sample of smartphones and tablets on various platforms were acquired, more than 130 iOS apps were evaluated but only 10 apps met our selection criteria. Only 4 out of 62 Android apps were tested. The results showed two apps with mean differences of 0.07 dB (unweighted) and -0.52 dB (A-weighted) from the reference values. Two other apps had mean differences within ±2 dB. The study suggests that certain apps may be appropriate for use in occupational noise measurements.

Sleep Applications to Assess Sleep Quality.

PubMed

Fietze, Ingo

2016-12-01

This article highlights the potential uses that smartphone applications may have for helping those with sleep problems. Applications in smartphones offer the promised possibility of detection of sleep. From the author's own experience, one can also conclude that sleep applications are approximately as good as polysomnography in detection of sleep time, similar to the conventional wearable actimeters. In the future, sleep applications will help to further enhance awareness of sleep health and to distinguish those who actually poorly and only briefly sleep from those who suffer more likely from paradox insomnia. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using Smartphones and Health Apps to Change and Manage Health Behaviors: A Population-Based Survey.

PubMed

Ernsting, Clemens; Dombrowski, Stephan U; Oedekoven, Monika; O Sullivan, Julie L; Kanzler, Melanie; Kuhlmey, Adelheid; Gellert, Paul

2017-04-05

Chronic conditions are an increasing challenge for individuals and the health care system. Smartphones and health apps are potentially promising tools to change health-related behaviors and manage chronic conditions. The aim of this study was to explore (1) the extent of smartphone and health app use, (2) sociodemographic, medical, and behavioral correlates of smartphone and health app use, and (3) associations of the use of apps and app characteristics with actual health behaviors. A population-based survey (N=4144) among Germans, aged 35 years and older, was conducted. Sociodemographics, presence of chronic conditions, health behaviors, quality of life, and health literacy, as well as the use of the Internet, smartphone, and health apps were assessed by questionnaire at home visit. Binary logistic regression models were applied. It was found that 61.25% (2538/4144) of participants used a smartphone. Compared with nonusers, smartphone users were younger, did more research on the Internet, were more likely to work full-time and more likely to have a university degree, engaged more in physical activity, and less in low fat diet, and had a higher health-related quality of life and health literacy. Among smartphone users, 20.53% (521/2538) used health apps. App users were younger, less likely to be native German speakers, did more research on the Internet, were more likely to report chronic conditions, engaged more in physical activity, and low fat diet, and were more health literate compared with nonusers who had a smartphone. Health apps focused on smoking cessation (232/521, 44.5%), healthy diet (201/521, 38.6%), and weight loss (121/521, 23.2%). The most common app characteristics were planning (264/521, 50.7%), reminding (188/521, 36.1%), prompting motivation (179/521 34.4%), and the provision of information (175/521, 33.6%). Significant associations were found between planning and the health behavior physical activity, between feedback or monitoring and physical activity, and between feedback or monitoring and adherence to doctor's advice. Although there were many smartphone and health app users, a substantial proportion of the population was not engaged. Findings suggest age-related, socioeconomic-related, literacy-related, and health-related disparities in the use of mobile technologies. Health app use may reflect a user's motivation to change or maintain health behaviors. App developers and researchers should take account of the needs of older people, people with low health literacy, and chronic conditions. ©Clemens Ernsting, Stephan U Dombrowski, Monika Oedekoven, Julie L O´Sullivan, Melanie Kanzler, Adelheid Kuhlmey, Paul Gellert. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 05.04.2017.

Validity and Reliability of 2 Goniometric Mobile Apps: Device, Application, and Examiner Factors.

PubMed

Wellmon, Robert H; Gulick, Dawn T; Paterson, Mark L; Gulick, Colleen N

2016-12-01

Smartphones are being used in a variety of practice settings to measure joint range of motion (ROM). A number of factors can affect the validity of the measurements generated. However, there are no studies examining smartphone-based goniometer applications focusing on measurement variability and error arising from the electromechanical properties of the device being used. To examine the concurrent validity and interrater reliability of 2 goniometric mobile applications (Goniometer Records, Goniometer Pro), an inclinometer, and a universal goniometer (UG). Nonexperimental, descriptive validation study. University laboratory. 3 physical therapists having an average of 25 y of experience. Three standardized angles (acute, right, obtuse) were constructed to replicate the movement of a hinge joint in the human body. Angular changes were measured and compared across 3 raters who used 3 different devices (UG, inclinometer, and 2 goniometric apps installed on 3 different smartphones: Apple iPhone 5, LG Android, and Samsung SIII Android). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and Bland-Altman plots were used to examine interrater reliability and concurrent validity. Interrater reliability for each of the smartphone apps, inclinometer and UG were excellent (ICC = .995-1.000). Concurrent validity was also good (ICC = .998-.999). Based on the Bland-Altman plots, the means of the differences between the devices were low (range = -0.4° to 1.2°). This study identifies the error inherent in measurement that is independent of patient factors and due to the smartphone, the installed apps, and examiner skill. Less than 2° of measurement variability was attributable to those factors alone. The data suggest that 3 smartphones with the 2 installed apps are a viable substitute for using a UG or an inclinometer when measuring angular changes that typically occur when examining ROM and demonstrate the capacity of multiple examiners to accurately use smartphone-based goniometers.

Smartphones - the Geophysics Lab in Your Students' Pocket

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salaree, A.; Stein, S.; Saloor, N.; Elling, R. P.

2017-12-01

Many interesting topics are hard to demonstrate in geophysics classes without costly equipment and logistic hassles. For instance, the speed of P-waves in the Earth's crust is usually calculated using printed seismic sections from published studies, giving students little insight into the recording process. This is mainly due to the complex, costly, and weather-dependent logistics of conducting seismic reflection experiments using arrays of - either purchased or borrowed - expensive seismometers and recording units. Smartphones, which students own and are (perhaps unduly) comfortable with, have many otherwise expensive instruments as built-in sensors. These instruments are nifty tools that make labs easier, faster, and more fun. We use smartphones in several labs in an introductory geophysics class. In one, students use their phones to measure the latitude and longitude of a point on campus. Combining the data shows a nice spread of positions illustrating the precision of measurements, spatial trends in the scatter, and even differences between Android and iPhone data. Hence concepts about data that are often presented with ideal theoretical examples emerge from the students' measurements. Another uses the phones' accelerometers and available software to measure the speed of P-waves using a linear array of smartphones/seismometers along a table, similar to the procedure used in reflection seismology. In a third, students used their smartphones in an elevator to measure the acceleration of gravity in a moving reference frame, and thus explore key concepts that arise in many geophysical applications. These three applications illustrate the potential for using smartphones in a wide variety of geophysics teaching, much as their value is being increasingly recognized in other educational applications. Here are some links to an instructions document and a video from the seismic experiment: Instructions: http://www.earth.northwestern.edu/ amir/202/smartphone_array.pdf Video: https://youtu.be/SL5dr4o5oTI

mHealth and memory aids: levels of smartphone ownership in patients.

PubMed

Migo, Ellen M; Haynes, Becky I; Harris, Lara; Friedner, Kim; Humphreys, Kate; Kopelman, Michael D

2015-01-01

The use of mobile devices to deliver healthcare has not yet been exploited in neuropsychological rehabilitation. Smartphones have the potential to serve as multi-functional memory aids. To investigate whether patients attending a clinic for mixed memory problems own smartphones, to determine whether this could be a widely applicable medium to use as a memory aids device. A questionnaire on smartphone ownership was given to an opportunity sample of consecutive patients attending a neuropsychiatry and memory disorders outpatient clinic. Data were collected in 2012 and repeated 12 months later in 2013 to assess changes over time. Ownership of mobile phones was stable between 2012 (81%) and 2013 (85%), but ownership of smartphones showed a significant increase (from 26% to 40%). Age negatively predicted smartphone ownership. Despite cognitive or psychiatric problems, our patient group are as likely to own a mobile phone as a member of the general population. Ownership levels are at 40% and likely to increase in the future. Exploring how smartphones and their apps could function as memory aids is likely to be useful for a large enough number of patients to be clinically worthwhile.

The study of two-dimensional oscillations using a smartphone acceleration sensor: example of Lissajous curves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tuset-Sanchis, Luis; Castro-Palacio, Juan C.; Gómez-Tejedor, José A.; Manjón, Francisco J.; Monsoriu, Juan A.

2015-08-01

A smartphone acceleration sensor is used to study two-dimensional harmonic oscillations. The data recorded by the free android application, Accelerometer Toy, is used to determine the periods of oscillation by graphical analysis. Different patterns of the Lissajous curves resulting from the superposition of harmonic motions are illustrated for three experiments. This work introduces an example of how two-dimensional oscillations can be easily studied with a smartphone acceleration sensor.

Can smartphones enhance telephone-based cognitive assessment (TBCA)?

PubMed

Kwan, Rick Yiu-Cho; Lai, Claudia Kam-Yuk

2013-12-12

TBCA has emerged to solve the limitations of administering cognitive assessments face-to-face. The recent development of telephones and knowledge advances in the area of cognitive impairment may affect the development of TBCA. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how smartphones can be used to enhance the applicability of TBCA, which has previously been administered by conventional telephone. This paper will first review, describe and critique the existing TBCA instruments. It will then discuss the recent developments in tele-technology, the popularity of tele-technology among the elderly, potential benefits and challenges in using smartphones for cognitive assessment, and possible future developments in this technology. In the systematic review, eighteen TBCA instruments were identified. They were found to be valid in differentiating between people with and without dementia. TBCA was previously found to be launched on a conventional telephone platform. The advances in understanding of cognitive impairment may demand that telephones be equipped with more advanced features. Recently, the development and penetration of smartphones among the elderly has been rapid. This may allow the smartphone to enhance its TBCA applicability by overcoming the limitations of the conventional telephone, rendering the TBCA more efficient in addressing the increasing demand and complexity of cognitive assessments in the future. However, more research and technology developments are needed before smartphones can become a valid platform for TBCA.

The Impact of Patient Education with a Smartphone Application on the Quality of Bowel Preparation for Screening Colonoscopy

PubMed Central

Cho, JeongHyeon; Lee, SeungHee; Shin, Jung A; Kim, Jeong Ho; Lee, Hong Sub

2017-01-01

Background/Aims Few studies have evaluated the use of a smartphone application (app) for educating people undergoing colonoscopy and optimizing bowel preparation. Therefore, this study was designed to develop a smartphone app for people to use as a preparation guide and to evaluate the efficacy of this app when used prior to colonoscopy. Methods In total, 142 patients (male:female=84:58, mean age=43.5±9.3 years), who were scheduled to undergo a colonoscopy at Myongji Hospital, were enrolled in this study. Seventy-one patients were asked to use a smartphone app that we had recently developed to prepare for the colonoscopy, while the 71 patients of the sex and age-matched control group were educated via written and verbal instructions. Results The quality of bowel cleansing, evaluated using the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale, was significantly higher in the smartphone app group than in the control group (7.70±1.1 vs. 7.24±0.8, respectively, p=0.007 by t-test). No significant differences were found between the two groups regarding work-up time and the number of patients with polyps. Conclusions In this study, targeting young adults (≤50 years), the bowel preparation achieved by patients using the smartphone app showed significantly better quality than that of the control group. PMID:28669148

The smartphone as a platform for wearable cameras in health research.

PubMed

Gurrin, Cathal; Qiu, Zhengwei; Hughes, Mark; Caprani, Niamh; Doherty, Aiden R; Hodges, Steve E; Smeaton, Alan F

2013-03-01

The Microsoft SenseCam, a small camera that is worn on the chest via a lanyard, increasingly is being deployed in health research. However, the SenseCam and other wearable cameras are not yet in widespread use because of a variety of factors. It is proposed that the ubiquitous smartphones can provide a more accessible alternative to SenseCam and similar devices. To perform an initial evaluation of the potential of smartphones to become an alternative to a wearable camera such as the SenseCam. In 2012, adults were supplied with a smartphone, which they wore on a lanyard, that ran life-logging software. Participants wore the smartphone for up to 1 day and the resulting life-log data were both manually annotated and automatically analyzed for the presence of visual concepts. The results were compared to prior work using the SenseCam. In total, 166,000 smartphone photos were gathered from 47 individuals, along with associated sensor readings. The average time spent wearing the device across all users was 5 hours 39 minutes (SD=4 hours 11 minutes). A subset of 36,698 photos was selected for manual annotation by five researchers. Software analysis of these photos supports the automatic identification of activities to a similar level of accuracy as for SenseCam images in a previous study. Many aspects of the functionality of a SenseCam largely can be replicated, and in some cases enhanced, by the ubiquitous smartphone platform. This makes smartphones good candidates for a new generation of wearable sensing devices in health research, because of their widespread use across many populations. It is envisioned that smartphones will provide a compelling alternative to the dedicated SenseCam hardware for a number of users and application areas. This will be achieved by integrating new types of sensor data, leveraging the smartphone's real-time connectivity and rich user interface, and providing support for a range of relatively sophisticated applications. Copyright © 2013 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Workshop report: "Using Social Media and Smartphone Applications in Practical Lessons to Enhance Student Learning" in Búzios, Brazil (August 6-8, 2017).

PubMed

Lellis-Santos, Camilo; Halpin, Patricia A

2018-06-01

Cost-effective student engagement poses a challenge for instructors, especially those who may not be familiar with new technologies and mobile devices. In this workshop, participants, experienced and discussed two ways of using smartphones in physiology classes: to engage in an online learning environment for discussions, and to make physiological measurements. Participants signed up for individual Twitter accounts and learned how to tweet, retweet, message, use a URL shortener, and use hashtags. They then went on to locate articles on an assigned topic from the Twitter accounts of credible science sources ( American Journal of Physiology, The Scientist, CDC.gov, WHO.int) and applied their Twitter skills to discuss the science topic of current interest. Additionally, participants shared their knowledge about the use of smartphones as a tool for teaching; they discussed the foundations of smartphone-assisted learning and the concept of mobile-learning laboratories, which we refer to as MobLeLabs. Participants also performed an experiment that used an Axé dance video and smartphone applications to measure changes in heart rate and reaction time. Our report describes this international hands-on teaching workshop and highlights its outcomes.

Novel developments in mobile sensing based on the integration of microfluidic devices and smartphones.

PubMed

Yang, Ke; Peretz-Soroka, Hagit; Liu, Yong; Lin, Francis

2016-03-21

Portable electronic devices and wireless communication systems enable a broad range of applications such as environmental and food safety monitoring, personalized medicine and healthcare management. Particularly, hybrid smartphone and microfluidic devices provide an integrated solution for the new generation of mobile sensing applications. Such mobile sensing based on microfluidic devices (broadly defined) and smartphones (MS(2)) offers a mobile laboratory for performing a wide range of bio-chemical detection and analysis functions such as water and food quality analysis, routine health tests and disease diagnosis. MS(2) offers significant advantages over traditional platforms in terms of test speed and control, low cost, mobility, ease-of-operation and data management. These improvements put MS(2) in a promising position in the fields of interdisciplinary basic and applied research. In particular, MS(2) enables applications to remote in-field testing, homecare, and healthcare in low-resource areas. The marriage of smartphones and microfluidic devices offers a powerful on-chip operating platform to enable various bio-chemical tests, remote sensing, data analysis and management in a mobile fashion. The implications of such integration are beyond telecommunication and microfluidic-related research and technology development. In this review, we will first provide the general background of microfluidic-based sensing, smartphone-based sensing, and their integration. Then, we will focus on several key application areas of MS(2) by systematically reviewing the important literature in each area. We will conclude by discussing our perspectives on the opportunities, issues and future directions of this emerging novel field.

Novel Developments of Mobile Sensing Based on the Integration of Microfluidic Devices and Smartphone

PubMed Central

Yang, Ke; Peretz-Soroka, Hagit; Liu, Yong; Lin, Francis

2016-01-01

Portable electronic devices and wireless communication systems enable a broad range of applications such as environmental and food safety monitoring, personalized medicine and healthcare management. Particularly, hybrid smartphone and microfluidic devices provide an integrated solution for the new generation of mobile sensing applications. Such mobile sensing based on microfluidic devices (broadly defined) and smartphones (MS2) offers a mobile laboratory for performing a wide range of bio-chemical detection and analysis functions such as water and food quality analysis, routine health tests and disease diagnosis. MS2 offers significant advantages over traditional platforms in terms of test speed and control, low cost, mobility, ease-of-operation and data management. These improvements put MS2 in a promising position in the fields of interdisciplinary basic and applied research. In particular, MS2 enables applications to remote infield testing, homecare, and healthcare in low-resource areas. The marriage of smartphones and microfluidic devices offers a powerful on-chip operating platform to enable various bio-chemical tests, remote sensing, data analysis and management in a mobile fashion. The implications of such integration are beyond telecommunication and microfluidic-related research and technology development. In this review, we will first provide the general background of microfluidic-based sensing, smartphone-based sensing, and their integration. Then, we will focus on several key application areas of MS2 by systematically reviewing the important literature in each area. We will conclude by discussing our perspectives on the opportunities, issues and future directions of this emerging novel field. PMID:26899264

Design and development of a nutritional assessment application for smartphones and tablets with Android OS.

PubMed

Carnero Gregorio, Miguel; Blanco Ramos, Montserrat; Obeso Carillo, Gerardo Andrés; García Fontán, Eva; Álvarez González, Miguel Ángel; Cañizares Carretero, Miguel Ángel

2014-10-03

To design and develop a nutritional application for smartphones and tablets with Android operating system for using to in- and outpatients that need a nutritional assessment. To check the validity of the results of such software. The application was compiled for version 2.1 of the Android operating system from Google. A cohort of 30 patients was included for evaluating the reliability of the application. The calculations were performed by staff of the Nutrition Unit of the Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Vigo, manually and through e-Nutrimet software on a smartphone and a tablet. Concordance was absolute between results of different methods obtained using e-Nutrimet on a smartphone and a tablet (Fleiss index κ= 1). The same level of concordance was obtained by comparing handmade and e-Nutrimet made results. The degree of correlation is good, and it would be extended to all healthcare staff who wants to determine whether a patient has malnutrition, or not. The nutritional assessment software e-Nutrimet does not replace healthcare staff in any case, but could be an important aid in assessing patients who may be in risk of malnutrition, saving time of evaluation. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

Listening to music with personal listening devices: monitoring the noise dose using a smartphone application.

PubMed

Kaplan-Neeman, Ricky; Muchnik, Chava; Amir, Noam

2017-06-01

To monitor listening habits to personal listening devices (PLDs) using a smartphone application and to compare actual listening habits to self-report data. Two stages: self-report listening habits questionnaire, and real-time monitoring of listening habits through a smartphone application. Overall 117 participants aged 18-34 years (mean 25.5 years) completed the questionnaire, and of them, 40 participants (mean age: 25.2 years) were monitored for listening habits during two weeks. Questionnaire main findings indicated that most of the participants reported listening for 4-7 days a week, for at least 30 min at high listening levels with volume control settings at 75-100%. Monitored data showed that actual listening days per week were 1.5-6.5 d, with mean continuous time of 1.56 h, and mean volume control setting of 7.39 (on a scale of 1-15). Eight participants (22%) were found to exceed the 100% noise dose at least once during the monitoring period. One participant (2.7%) exceeded the weekly 100% daily noise dose. Correlations between actual measurements and self-report data were low to moderate. Results confirmed the feasibility of monitoring listening habits by a smartphone application, and underscore the need for such a tool to enable safe listening behaviour.

Smartphone-Based Geofencing to Ascertain Hospitalizations.

PubMed

Nguyen, Kaylin T; Olgin, Jeffrey E; Pletcher, Mark J; Ng, Madelena; Kaye, Leanne; Moturu, Sai; Gladstone, Rachel A; Malladi, Chaitanya; Fann, Amy H; Maguire, Carol; Bettencourt, Laura; Christensen, Matthew A; Marcus, Gregory M

2017-03-01

Ascertainment of hospitalizations is critical to assess quality of care and the effectiveness and adverse effects of various therapies. Smartphones, mobile geolocators that are ubiquitous, have not been leveraged to ascertain hospitalizations. Therefore, we evaluated the use of smartphone-based geofencing to track hospitalizations. Participants aged ≥18 years installed a mobile application programmed to geofence all hospitals using global positioning systems and cell phone tower triangulation and to trigger a smartphone-based questionnaire when located in a hospital for ≥4 hours. An in-person study included consecutive consenting patients scheduled for electrophysiology and cardiac catheterization procedures. A remote arm invited Health eHeart Study participants who consented and engaged with the study via the internet only. The accuracy of application-detected hospitalizations was confirmed by medical record review as the reference standard. Of 22 eligible in-person patients, 17 hospitalizations were detected (sensitivity 77%; 95% confidence interval, 55%-92%). The length of stay according to the application was positively correlated with the length of stay ascertained via the electronic medical record ( r =0.53; P =0.03). In the remote arm, the application was downloaded by 3443 participants residing in all 50 US states; 243 hospital visits at 119 different hospitals were detected through the application. The positive predictive value for an application-reported hospitalization was 65% (95% confidence interval, 57%-72%). Mobile application-based ascertainment of hospitalizations can be achieved with modest accuracy. This first proof of concept may ultimately be applicable to geofencing other types of prespecified locations to facilitate healthcare research and patient care. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

Validity and reliability of smartphone magnetometer-based goniometer evaluation of shoulder abduction--A pilot study.

PubMed

Johnson, Linda B; Sumner, Sean; Duong, Tina; Yan, Posu; Bajcsy, Ruzena; Abresch, R Ted; de Bie, Evan; Han, Jay J

2015-12-01

Goniometers are commonly used by physical therapists to measure range-of-motion (ROM) in the musculoskeletal system. These measurements are used to assist in diagnosis and to help monitor treatment efficacy. With newly emerging technologies, smartphone-based applications are being explored for measuring joint angles and movement. This pilot study investigates the intra- and inter-rater reliability as well as concurrent validity of a newly-developed smartphone magnetometer-based goniometer (MG) application for measuring passive shoulder abduction in both sitting and supine positions, and compare against the traditional universal goniometer (UG). This is a comparative study with repeated measurement design. Three physical therapists utilized both the smartphone MG and a traditional UG to measure various angles of passive shoulder abduction in a healthy subject, whose shoulder was positioned in eight different positions with pre-determined degree of abduction while seated or supine. Each therapist was blinded to the measured angles. Concordance correlation coefficients (CCCs), Bland-Altman plotting methods, and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used for statistical analyses. Both traditional UG and smartphone MG were reliable in repeated measures of standardized joint angle positions (average CCC > 0.997) with similar variability in both measurement tools (standard deviation (SD) ± 4°). Agreement between the UG and MG measurements was greater than 0.99 in all positions. Our results show that the smartphone MG has equivalent reliability compared to the traditional UG when measuring passive shoulder abduction ROM. With concordant measures and comparable reliability to the UG, the newly developed MG application shows potential as a useful tool to assess joint angles. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Gait parameter and event estimation using smartphones.

PubMed

Pepa, Lucia; Verdini, Federica; Spalazzi, Luca

2017-09-01

The use of smartphones can greatly help for gait parameters estimation during daily living, but its accuracy needs a deeper evaluation against a gold standard. The objective of the paper is a step-by-step assessment of smartphone performance in heel strike, step count, step period, and step length estimation. The influence of smartphone placement and orientation on estimation performance is evaluated as well. This work relies on a smartphone app developed to acquire, process, and store inertial sensor data and rotation matrices about device position. Smartphone alignment was evaluated by expressing the acceleration vector in three reference frames. Two smartphone placements were tested. Three methods for heel strike detection were considered. On the basis of estimated heel strikes, step count is performed, step period is obtained, and the inverted pendulum model is applied for step length estimation. Pearson correlation coefficient, absolute and relative errors, ANOVA, and Bland-Altman limits of agreement were used to compare smartphone estimation with stereophotogrammetry on eleven healthy subjects. High correlations were found between smartphone and stereophotogrammetric measures: up to 0.93 for step count, to 0.99 for heel strike, 0.96 for step period, and 0.92 for step length. Error ranges are comparable to those in the literature. Smartphone placement did not affect the performance. The major influence of acceleration reference frames and heel strike detection method was found in step count. This study provides detailed information about expected accuracy when smartphone is used as a gait monitoring tool. The obtained results encourage real life applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Application of a smartphone nurse call system for nursing care.

PubMed

Chuang, Shu-Ting; Liu, Yi-Fang; Fu, Zi-Xuan; Liu, Kuang-Chung; Chien, Sou-Hsin; Lin, Chin-Lon; Lin, Pi-Yu

2015-02-01

Traditionally, a patient presses the nurse call button and alerts the central nursing station. This system cannot reach the primary care nurse directly. The aim of this study was to apply a new smartphone system through the cloud system and information technology that linked a smartphone and a mobile nursing station for nursing care service. A smartphone and mobile nursing station were integrated into a smartphone nurse call system through the cloud and information technology for better nursing care. Waiting time for a patient to contact the most responsible nurse was reduced from 3.8 min to 6 s. The average time for pharmacists to locate the nurse for medication problem was reduced from 4.2 min to 1.8 min by the new system. After implementation of the smartphone nurse call system, patients received a more rapid response. This improved patients' satisfaction and reduced the number of complaints about longer waiting time due to the shortage of nurses.

Development and Evaluation of a Smartphone-Based Measure of Social Rhythms for Bipolar Disorder.

PubMed

Matthews, Mark; Abdullah, Saeed; Murnane, Elizabeth; Voida, Stephen; Choudhury, Tanzeem; Gay, Geri; Frank, Ellen

2016-08-01

Dynamic psychological processes are most often assessed using self-report instruments. This places a constraint on how often and for how long data can be collected due to the burden placed on human participants. Smartphones are ubiquitous and highly personal devices, equipped with sensors that offer an opportunity to measure and understand psychological processes in real-world contexts over the long term. In this article, we present a novel smartphone approach to address the limitations of self-report in bipolar disorder where mood and activity are key constructs. We describe the development of MoodRhythm, a smartphone application that incorporates existing self-report elements from interpersonal and social rhythm therapy, a clinically validated treatment, and combines them with novel inputs from smartphone sensors. We reflect on lessons learned in transitioning from an existing self-report instrument to one that involves smartphone sensors and discuss the potential impact of these changes on the future of psychological assessment.

Implementation of a Smart Phone for Motion Analysis.

PubMed

Yodpijit, Nantakrit; Songwongamarit, Chalida; Tavichaiyuth, Nicha

2015-01-01

In today’s information-rich environment, one of the most popular devices is a smartphone. Research has shown significant growth in the use of smartphones and apps all over the world. Accelerometer within smartphone is a motion sensor that can be used to detect human movements. Compared to other major vital signs, gait characteristics represent general health status, and can be determined using smartphones. The objective of the current study is to design and develop the alternative technology that can potentially predict health status and reduce healthcare cost. This study uses a smartphone as a wireless accelerometer for quantifying human motion characteristics from four steps of the system design and development (data acquisition operation, feature extraction algorithm, classifier design, and decision making strategy). Findings indicate that it is possible to extract features from a smartphone’s accelerometer using a peak detection algorithm. Gait characteristics obtain from the peak detection algorithm include stride time, stance time, swing time and cadence. Applications and limitations of this study are also discussed.

Development of smartphone application that aids stroke screening and identifying nearby acute stroke care hospitals.

PubMed

Nam, Hyo Suk; Heo, JoonNyung; Kim, Jinkwon; Kim, Young Dae; Song, Tae Jin; Park, Eunjeong; Heo, Ji Hoe

2014-01-01

The benefits of thrombolytic treatment are time-dependent. We developed a smartphone application that aids stroke patient self-screening and hospital selection, and may also decrease hospital arrival time. The application was developed for iPhone and Android smartphones. Map data for the application were adopted from the open map. For hospital registration, a web page (http://stroke119.org) was developed using PHP and MySQL. The Stroke 119 application includes a stroke screening tool and real-time information on nearby hospitals that provide thrombolytic treatment. It also provides information on stroke symptoms, thrombolytic treatment, and prescribed actions when stroke is suspected. The stroke screening tool was adopted from the Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale and is displayed in a cartoon format. If the user taps a cartoon image that represents abnormal findings, a pop-up window shows that the user may be having a stroke, informs the user what to do, and directs the user to call emergency services. Information on nearby hospitals is provided in map and list views, incorporating proximity to the user's location using a Global Positioning System (a built-in function of smartphones). Users can search for a hospital according to specialty and treatment levels. We also developed a web page for hospitals to register in the system. Neurology training hospitals and hospitals that provide acute stroke care in Korea were invited to register. Seventy-seven hospitals had completed registration. This application may be useful for reducing hospital arrival times for thrombolytic candidates.

Exploring the Potential for Technology-Based Nutrition Education Among WIC Recipients in Remote Alaska Native Communities.

PubMed

Power, Julianne M; Braun, Kathryn L; Bersamin, Andrea

Estimate media technology use in Alaska Native communities to inform the feasibility of technology-based nutrition education. A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to a random selection of about 50% of Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) authorized representatives in remote Alaska Native communities (n = 975). Media technology use, interest in media technology-based nutrition education, and potential barriers were assessed. Chi-square tests were used to investigate associations among technology use, age, and education. Technology use was common among respondents (n = 368); use was significantly more common among younger age groups and participants with a higher level of education. Smartphone (78.8%) and Facebook (95.8%) use was comparable to national averages, but having a computer at home (38.4%) was much less likely. Less than 50% of participants have Internet access at home. Findings shed light on new opportunities for WIC and other programs to deliver nutrition education to Alaska Native people in remote communities. Copyright © 2016 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Digital age and the public eHealth perspective: Prevailing health app use among Austrian Internet users.

PubMed

Naszay, Marlene; Stockinger, Andreas; Jungwirth, David; Haluza, Daniela

2017-12-19

New technological developments affect almost every sector of our daily lives including the healthcare sector. Successful adoption and sustainable integration of eHealth and telemedicine in Public Health strategies (also known as Public eHealth) depend on knowledge and constant evaluation of consumers' needs, proficiencies, and preferences. We therefore assessed how the general Austrian population perceived innovative Public eHealth solutions. The online survey on 562 Austrian adults (58.9% females) collected self-reported data on current and expected use of smartphone-based health applications (apps) of digital natives (35 years and younger) and digital immigrants (aged 35+). In total, 26.7% (95% CI 23.0-30.4) of participants already used health apps, especially lifestyle-associated apps for monitoring exercise habits and nutritional habits. We found substantial digital age group differences; compared to digital immigrants digital natives were more likely to use mobile devices and health apps. Health apps have the potential to improve community health and prevent lifestyle diseases cost-effectively and efficiently, and thus build an important pillar of Public eHealth. With regard to aging societies, healthcare providers could take advantage of consumer-oriented health apps by assessing individual needs of specific target groups such as elderly people.

STEPPING - Smartphone-Based Portable Pedestrian Indoor Navigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lukianto, C.; Sternberg, H.

2011-12-01

Many current smartphones are fitted with GPS receivers, which, in combination with a map application form a pedestrian navigation system for outdoor purposes. However, once an area with insufficient satellite signal coverage is entered, these navigation systems cease to function. For indoor positioning, there are already several solutions available which are usually based on measured distances to reference points. These solutions can achieve resolutions as low as the sub-millimetre range depending on the complexity of the set-up. STEPPING project, developed at HCU Hamburg Germany aims at designing an indoor navigation system consisting of a small inertial navigation system and a new, robust sensor fusion algorithm running on a current smartphone. As this system is theoretically able to integrate any available positioning method, it is independent of a particular method and can thus be realized on a smartphone without affecting user mobility. Potential applications include --but are not limited to: Large trade fairs, airports, parking decks and shopping malls, as well as ambient assisted living scenarios.

Citizen Sensors for SHM: Use of Accelerometer Data from Smartphones

PubMed Central

Feng, Maria; Fukuda, Yoshio; Mizuta, Masato; Ozer, Ekin

2015-01-01

Ubiquitous smartphones have created a significant opportunity to form a low-cost wireless Citizen Sensor network and produce big data for monitoring structural integrity and safety under operational and extreme loads. Such data are particularly useful for rapid assessment of structural damage in a large urban setting after a major event such as an earthquake. This study explores the utilization of smartphone accelerometers for measuring structural vibration, from which structural health and post-event damage can be diagnosed. Widely available smartphones are tested under sinusoidal wave excitations with frequencies in the range relevant to civil engineering structures. Large-scale seismic shaking table tests, observing input ground motion and response of a structural model, are carried out to evaluate the accuracy of smartphone accelerometers under operational, white-noise and earthquake excitations of different intensity. Finally, the smartphone accelerometers are tested on a dynamically loaded bridge. The extensive experiments show satisfactory agreements between the reference and smartphone sensor measurements in both time and frequency domains, demonstrating the capability of the smartphone sensors to measure structural responses ranging from low-amplitude ambient vibration to high-amplitude seismic response. Encouraged by the results of this study, the authors are developing a citizen-engaging and data-analytics crowdsourcing platform towards a smartphone-based Citizen Sensor network for structural health monitoring and post-event damage assessment applications. PMID:25643056

Smartphone dependence classification using tensor factorization

PubMed Central

Kim, Yejin; Yook, In Hye; Yu, Hwanjo; Kim, Dai-Jin

2017-01-01

Excessive smartphone use causes personal and social problems. To address this issue, we sought to derive usage patterns that were directly correlated with smartphone dependence based on usage data. This study attempted to classify smartphone dependence using a data-driven prediction algorithm. We developed a mobile application to collect smartphone usage data. A total of 41,683 logs of 48 smartphone users were collected from March 8, 2015, to January 8, 2016. The participants were classified into the control group (SUC) or the addiction group (SUD) using the Korean Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale for Adults (S-Scale) and a face-to-face offline interview by a psychiatrist and a clinical psychologist (SUC = 23 and SUD = 25). We derived usage patterns using tensor factorization and found the following six optimal usage patterns: 1) social networking services (SNS) during daytime, 2) web surfing, 3) SNS at night, 4) mobile shopping, 5) entertainment, and 6) gaming at night. The membership vectors of the six patterns obtained a significantly better prediction performance than the raw data. For all patterns, the usage times of the SUD were much longer than those of the SUC. From our findings, we concluded that usage patterns and membership vectors were effective tools to assess and predict smartphone dependence and could provide an intervention guideline to predict and treat smartphone dependence based on usage data. PMID:28636614

Implementation of a smartphone wireless accelerometer platform for establishing deep brain stimulation treatment efficacy of essential tremor with machine learning.

PubMed

LeMoyne, Robert; Tomycz, Nestor; Mastroianni, Timothy; McCandless, Cyrus; Cozza, Michael; Peduto, David

2015-01-01

Essential tremor (ET) is a highly prevalent movement disorder. Patients with ET exhibit a complex progressive and disabling tremor, and medical management often fails. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been successfully applied to this disorder, however there has been no quantifiable way to measure tremor severity or treatment efficacy in this patient population. The quantified amelioration of kinetic tremor via DBS is herein demonstrated through the application of a smartphone (iPhone) as a wireless accelerometer platform. The recorded acceleration signal can be obtained at a setting of the subject's convenience and conveyed by wireless transmission through the Internet for post-processing anywhere in the world. Further post-processing of the acceleration signal can be classified through a machine learning application, such as the support vector machine. Preliminary application of deep brain stimulation with a smartphone for acquisition of a feature set and machine learning for classification has been successfully applied. The support vector machine achieved 100% classification between deep brain stimulation in `on' and `off' mode based on the recording of an accelerometer signal through a smartphone as a wireless accelerometer platform.

Predicting Smartphone Operating System from Personality and Individual Differences.

PubMed

Shaw, Heather; Ellis, David A; Kendrick, Libby-Rae; Ziegler, Fenja; Wiseman, Richard

2016-12-01

Android and iPhone devices account for over 90 percent of all smartphones sold worldwide. Despite being very similar in functionality, current discourse and marketing campaigns suggest that key individual differences exist between users of these two devices; however, this has never been investigated empirically. This is surprising, as smartphones continue to gain momentum across a variety of research disciplines. In this article, we consider if individual differences exist between these two distinct groups. In comparison to Android users, we found that iPhone owners are more likely to be female, younger, and increasingly concerned about their smartphone being viewed as a status object. Key differences in personality were also observed with iPhone users displaying lower levels of Honesty-Humility and higher levels of emotionality. Following this analysis, we were also able to build and test a model that predicted smartphone ownership at above chance level based on these individual differences. In line with extended self-theory, the type of smartphone owned provides some valuable information about its owner. These findings have implications for the increasing use of smartphones within research particularly for those working within Computational Social Science and PsychoInformatics, where data are typically collected from devices and applications running a single smartphone operating system.

Measuring the speed of sound in air using smartphone applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yavuz, A.

2015-05-01

This study presents a revised version of an old experiment available in many textbooks for measuring the speed of sound in air. A signal-generator application in a smartphone is used to produce the desired sound frequency. Nodes of sound waves in a glass pipe, of which one end is immersed in water, are more easily detected, so results can be obtained more quickly than from traditional acoustic experiments using tuning forks.

Indoor navigation by image recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Io Teng; Leong, Chi Chong; Hong, Ka Wo; Pun, Chi-Man

2017-07-01

With the progress of smartphones hardware, it is simple on smartphone using image recognition technique such as face detection. In addition, indoor navigation system development is much slower than outdoor navigation system. Hence, this research proves a usage of image recognition technique for navigation in indoor environment. In this paper, we introduced an indoor navigation application that uses the indoor environment features to locate user's location and a route calculating algorithm to generate an appropriate path for user. The application is implemented on Android smartphone rather than iPhone. Yet, the application design can also be applied on iOS because the design is implemented without using special features only for Android. We found that digital navigation system provides better and clearer location information than paper map. Also, the indoor environment is ideal for Image recognition processing. Hence, the results motivate us to design an indoor navigation system using image recognition.

Efficacy of communication amongst staff members at plastic and reconstructive surgery section using smartphone and mobile WhatsApp.

PubMed

Wani, Shabeer Ahmad; Rabah, Sari M; Alfadil, Sara; Dewanjee, Nancy; Najmi, Yahya

2013-09-01

The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy of smartphone and its WhatsApp application as a communication method amongst the staff of plastic and reconstructive surgery section at tertiary care health facility. From January 2012 onwards, the authors used smartphones and its WhatsApp application as a communication method amongst their team for various aspects of patient management and as a tool for academic endorsements. During the period of this study, there were 116 episodes regarding patient management, which were handled, in a timely fashion by using this application. In addition opinion of rotating residents in the section was sought regarding the efficacy of this method of communication. Overall majority of residents were satisfied with this mode of communication. This new method of communication is an effective method for clinical and academic endorsements. The method is cheap and quick and easy to operate.

The application of a smartphone in ship stability experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Djebli, Mohamed Abdelkader; Hamoudi, Benameur; Imine, Omar; Adjlout, Lahouari

2015-12-01

The inclining experiment is the only regulatory tool to assess ship stability. This experiment is a time consuming process for both real-life tests and ship model experiments. The difficulty is mainly due to a bias in the measurement of heel angle. Nowadays, digital inclinometers are available but they are expensive. In this study, the use of a smartphone application is presented for ship inclination and rolling-period tests. The idea consists of using accelerometer and gyroscope sensors built into the current smartphones for the measurements. Therefore, some experiments are carried out on an example trawler model to exhibit the uses and advantages of this method. The obtained results are in good agreement with those provided from the pendulum method and natural roll-period test. This application is new, easy, and more accurately assesses metacentric height during the inclining and rolling-period tests.

A Smartphone Application Supporting Recovery from Heroin Addiction: Perspectives of Patients and Providers in China, Taiwan, and the USA.

PubMed

Schulte, Marya; Liang, Di; Wu, Fei; Lan, Yu-Ching; Tsay, Wening; Du, Jiang; Zhao, Min; Li, Xu; Hser, Yih-Ing

2016-09-01

Smartphone-based interventions are increasingly used to support self-monitoring, self-management, and treatment and medication compliance in order to improve overall functioning and well-being. In attempting to develop a smartphone application (S-Health) that assists heroin-dependent patients in recovery, a series of focus groups (72 patients, 22 providers) were conducted in China, Taiwan, and the USA to obtain their perspectives on its acceptance and potential adoption. Data were analyzed according to the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory of characteristics important to the adoption of innovation. Important to Relative Advantage, USA participants cited S-Health's potential ability to overcome logistical barriers, while those in China and Taiwan valued its potential to supplement currently limited services. In terms of Compatibility, participants across sites reported recovery needs and goals that such an application could be helpful in supporting; however, its utility during strong craving was questioned in China and Taiwan. Important factors relevant to Complexity included concerns about smartphone access and familiarity, individualization of content, and particularly in China and Taiwan, participants wanted assurance of privacy and security. The study results suggest a general acceptance, but also indicate cultural variations in access to therapeutic and other social support systems, legal repercussions of substance use, societal perceptions of addiction, and the role of family and other social support in recovery. Taking these factors into consideration is likely to increase diffusion as well as effectiveness of these smartphone-based interventions.

Smartphones for distributed multimode sensing: biological and environmental sensing and analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feitshans, Tyler; Williams, Robert

2013-05-01

Active and Agile Environmental and Biological sensing are becoming obligatory to generate prompt warnings for the troops and law enforcements conducting missions in hostile environments. The traditional static sensing mesh networks which provide a coarse-grained (far-field) measurement of the environmental conditions like air quality, radiation , CO2, etc … would not serve the dynamic and localized changes in the environment, which requires a fine-grained (near-field) sensing solutions. Further, sensing the biological conditions of (healthy and injured) personnel in a contaminated environment and providing a personalized analysis of the life-threatening conditions in real-time would greatly aid the success of the mission. In this vein, under SATE and YATE programs, the research team at AFRL Tec^Edge Discovery labs had demonstrated the feasibility of developing Smartphone applications , that employ a suite of external environmental and biological sensors, which provide fine-grained and customized sensing in real-time fashion. In its current state, these smartphone applications leverage a custom designed modular standalone embedded platform (with external sensors) that can be integrated seamlessly with Smartphones for sensing and further provides connectivity to a back-end data architecture for archiving, analysis and dissemination of real-time alerts. Additionally, the developed smartphone applications have been successfully tested in the field with varied environmental sensors to sense humidity, CO2/CO, wind, etc…, ; and with varied biological sensors to sense body temperature and pulse with apt real-time analysis

A Smartphone Application Supporting Recovery from Heroin Addiction: Perspectives of Patients and Providers in China, Taiwan, and the USA

PubMed Central

Schulte, Marya; Liang, Di; Wu, Fei; Lan, Yu-Ching; Tsay, Wening; Du, Jiang; Zhao, Min; Li, Xu

2016-01-01

Smartphone-based interventions are increasingly used to support self-monitoring, self-management, and treatment and medication compliance in order to improve overall functioning and well-being. In attempting to develop a smartphone application (S-Health) that assists heroin-dependent patients in recovery, a series of focus groups (72 patients, 22 providers) were conducted in China, Taiwan, and the USA to obtain their perspectives on its acceptance and potential adoption. Data were analyzed according to the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory of characteristics important to the adoption of innovation. Important to Relative Advantage, USA participants cited S-Health’s potential ability to overcome logistical barriers, while those in China and Taiwan valued its potential to supplement currently limited services. In terms of Compatibility, participants across sites reported recovery needs and goals that such an application could be helpful in supporting; however, its utility during strong craving was questioned in China and Taiwan. Important factors relevant to Complexity included concerns about smartphone access and familiarity, individualization of content, and particularly in China and Taiwan, participants wanted assurance of privacy and security. The study results suggest a general acceptance, but also indicate cultural variations in access to therapeutic and other social support systems, legal repercussions of substance use, societal perceptions of addiction, and the role of family and other social support in recovery. Taking these factors into consideration is likely to increase diffusion as well as effectiveness of these smartphone-based interventions. PMID:26846506

Modeling Battery Behavior on Sensory Operations for Context-Aware Smartphone Sensing

PubMed Central

Yurur, Ozgur; Liu, Chi Harold; Moreno, Wilfrido

2015-01-01

Energy consumption is a major concern in context-aware smartphone sensing. This paper first studies mobile device-based battery modeling, which adopts the kinetic battery model (KiBaM), under the scope of battery non-linearities with respect to variant loads. Second, this paper models the energy consumption behavior of accelerometers analytically and then provides extensive simulation results and a smartphone application to examine the proposed sensor model. Third, a Markov reward process is integrated to create energy consumption profiles, linking with sensory operations and their effects on battery non-linearity. Energy consumption profiles consist of different pairs of duty cycles and sampling frequencies during sensory operations. Furthermore, the total energy cost by each profile is represented by an accumulated reward in this process. Finally, three different methods are proposed on the evolution of the reward process, to present the linkage between different usage patterns on the accelerometer sensor through a smartphone application and the battery behavior. By doing this, this paper aims at achieving a fine efficiency in power consumption caused by sensory operations, while maintaining the accuracy of smartphone applications based on sensor usages. More importantly, this study intends that modeling the battery non-linearities together with investigating the effects of different usage patterns in sensory operations in terms of the power consumption and the battery discharge may lead to discovering optimal energy reduction strategies to extend the battery lifetime and help a continual improvement in context-aware mobile services. PMID:26016916

Modeling battery behavior on sensory operations for context-aware smartphone sensing.

PubMed

Yurur, Ozgur; Liu, Chi Harold; Moreno, Wilfrido

2015-05-26

Energy consumption is a major concern in context-aware smartphone sensing. This paper first studies mobile device-based battery modeling, which adopts the kinetic battery model (KiBaM), under the scope of battery non-linearities with respect to variant loads. Second, this paper models the energy consumption behavior of accelerometers analytically and then provides extensive simulation results and a smartphone application to examine the proposed sensor model. Third, a Markov reward process is integrated to create energy consumption profiles, linking with sensory operations and their effects on battery non-linearity. Energy consumption profiles consist of different pairs of duty cycles and sampling frequencies during sensory operations. Furthermore, the total energy cost by each profile is represented by an accumulated reward in this process. Finally, three different methods are proposed on the evolution of the reward process, to present the linkage between different usage patterns on the accelerometer sensor through a smartphone application and the battery behavior. By doing this, this paper aims at achieving a fine efficiency in power consumption caused by sensory operations, while maintaining the accuracy of smartphone applications based on sensor usages. More importantly, this study intends that modeling the battery non-linearities together with investigating the effects of different usage patterns in sensory operations in terms of the power consumption and the battery discharge may lead to discovering optimal energy reduction strategies to extend the battery lifetime and help a continual improvement in context-aware mobile services.

Mobile Apps and Transportation : A Review of Smartphone Apps and a Study of User Response to Multimodal Traveler Information.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-10-01

In recent years, technological and social forces have pushed smartphone applications (apps) from the fringe to the mainstream. Understanding the role of transportation apps in urban mobility is important for policy development and transportation plan...

How smartphones are changing the face of mobile and participatory healthcare: an overview, with example from eCAALYX.

PubMed

Boulos, Maged N Kamel; Wheeler, Steve; Tavares, Carlos; Jones, Ray

2011-04-05

The latest generation of smartphones are increasingly viewed as handheld computers rather than as phones, due to their powerful on-board computing capability, capacious memories, large screens and open operating systems that encourage application development. This paper provides a brief state-of-the-art overview of health and healthcare smartphone apps (applications) on the market today, including emerging trends and market uptake. Platforms available today include Android, Apple iOS, RIM BlackBerry, Symbian, and Windows (Windows Mobile 6.x and the emerging Windows Phone 7 platform). The paper covers apps targeting both laypersons/patients and healthcare professionals in various scenarios, e.g., health, fitness and lifestyle education and management apps; ambient assisted living apps; continuing professional education tools; and apps for public health surveillance. Among the surveyed apps are those assisting in chronic disease management, whether as standalone apps or part of a BAN (Body Area Network) and remote server configuration. We describe in detail the development of a smartphone app within eCAALYX (Enhanced Complete Ambient Assisted Living Experiment, 2009-2012), an EU-funded project for older people with multiple chronic conditions. The eCAALYX Android smartphone app receives input from a BAN (a patient-wearable smart garment with wireless health sensors) and the GPS (Global Positioning System) location sensor in the smartphone, and communicates over the Internet with a remote server accessible by healthcare professionals who are in charge of the remote monitoring and management of the older patient with multiple chronic conditions. Finally, we briefly discuss barriers to adoption of health and healthcare smartphone apps (e.g., cost, network bandwidth and battery power efficiency, usability, privacy issues, etc.), as well as some workarounds to mitigate those barriers.

Smartphone applications to support weight loss: current perspectives

PubMed Central

Pellegrini, Christine A; Pfammatter, Angela F; Conroy, David E; Spring, Bonnie

2015-01-01

Lower cost alternatives are needed for the traditional in-person behavioral weight loss programs to overcome challenges of lowering the worldwide prevalence of overweight and obesity. Smartphones have become ubiquitous and provide a unique platform to aid in the delivery of a behavioral weight loss program. The technological capabilities of a smartphone may address certain limitations of a traditional weight loss program, while also reducing the cost and burden on participants, interventionists, and health care providers. Awareness of the advantages smartphones offer for weight loss has led to the rapid development and proliferation of weight loss applications (apps). The built-in features and the mechanisms by which they work vary across apps. Although there are an extraordinary number of a weight loss apps available, most lack the same magnitude of evidence-based behavior change strategies typically used in traditional programs. As features develop and new capabilities are identified, we propose a conceptual model as a framework to guide the inclusion of features that can facilitate behavior change and lead to reductions in weight. Whereas the conventional wisdom about behavior change asserts that more is better (with respect to the number of behavior change techniques involved), this model suggests that less may be more because extra techniques may add burden and adversely impact engagement. Current evidence is promising and continues to emerge on the potential of smartphone use within weight loss programs; yet research is unable to keep up with the rapidly improving smartphone technology. Future studies are needed to refine the conceptual model’s utility in the use of technology for weight loss, determine the effectiveness of intervention components utilizing smartphone technology, and identify novel and faster ways to evaluate the ever-changing technology. PMID:26236766

How smartphones are changing the face of mobile and participatory healthcare: an overview, with example from eCAALYX

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

The latest generation of smartphones are increasingly viewed as handheld computers rather than as phones, due to their powerful on-board computing capability, capacious memories, large screens and open operating systems that encourage application development. This paper provides a brief state-of-the-art overview of health and healthcare smartphone apps (applications) on the market today, including emerging trends and market uptake. Platforms available today include Android, Apple iOS, RIM BlackBerry, Symbian, and Windows (Windows Mobile 6.x and the emerging Windows Phone 7 platform). The paper covers apps targeting both laypersons/patients and healthcare professionals in various scenarios, e.g., health, fitness and lifestyle education and management apps; ambient assisted living apps; continuing professional education tools; and apps for public health surveillance. Among the surveyed apps are those assisting in chronic disease management, whether as standalone apps or part of a BAN (Body Area Network) and remote server configuration. We describe in detail the development of a smartphone app within eCAALYX (Enhanced Complete Ambient Assisted Living Experiment, 2009-2012), an EU-funded project for older people with multiple chronic conditions. The eCAALYX Android smartphone app receives input from a BAN (a patient-wearable smart garment with wireless health sensors) and the GPS (Global Positioning System) location sensor in the smartphone, and communicates over the Internet with a remote server accessible by healthcare professionals who are in charge of the remote monitoring and management of the older patient with multiple chronic conditions. Finally, we briefly discuss barriers to adoption of health and healthcare smartphone apps (e.g., cost, network bandwidth and battery power efficiency, usability, privacy issues, etc.), as well as some workarounds to mitigate those barriers. PMID:21466669

Smartphone Technology and Text Messaging for Weight Loss in Young Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Stephens, Janna D; Yager, Allison M; Allen, Jerilyn

Using smartphone technology and text messaging for health is a growing field. This type of technology is well integrated into the lives of young adults. However, few studies have tested the effect of this type of technology to promote weight loss in young adults OBJECTIVE:: The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of a behaviorally based smartphone application for weight loss combined with text messaging from a health coach on weight, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference in young adults as compared with a control condition. Sixty-two young adults, aged 18 to 25 years, were randomized to receive (1) a smartphone application + health coach intervention and counseling sessions or (2) control condition with a counseling session. All outcome measures were tested at baseline and 3 months. These included weight, BMI, waist circumference, dietary habits, physical activity habits, and self-efficacy for healthy eating and physical activity. The sample was 71% female and 39% white, with an average age of 20 years and average BMI of 28.5 kg/m. Participants in the smartphone + health coach group lost significantly more weight (P = .026) and had a significant reduction in both BMI (P = .024) and waist circumference (P < .01) compared with controls. The results of this weight loss trial support the use of smartphone technology and feedback from a health coach on improving weight in a group of diverse young adults.

The Analysis Of Smartphone Apps In Geomatics Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teo, T.-A.; Wu, H.-M.; Shih, T.-Y.; Tsai, F.

2014-04-01

Geomatics is a discipline of collecting, processing and analysing geospatial data. Data collection is a core process of geomatics which usually adopt precise equipment to measure geospatial data. With the development of technology, a smartphone in this present era is not simply for communication; several low cost measurement devices such as Global Positioning System (GPS), gyro and camera are assembled in a smartphone. Although the devices assembled in a smartphone could not meet the needs of accuracy requirement for many geomatics applications, millions of mobile applications (Apps) can be downloaded and installed from Google Play and Apple Store freely, and a variety of sensors can be chosen for user. Considering that the popularity and convenience of a smartphone, and assuming that the accuracy of those collected data is acceptable for learning purposes, it is expected that a smartphone can be employed in geomatics for hand-on education. For example, Vespucci OSM Editor is an App to edit the OpenStreetMap on Android. The user may have the hand-on experience on GPS positioning, web services and mapping via Vespucci OSM Editor. The aim of this paper is to collect and analyze different Apps for geomatics education. The Apps are classified into four categories, namely, surveying, remote sensing, GPS and Geographic Information System (GIS). In this paper, more than 20 free Apps are collected and analysed for different hand-on studies in geomatics education. Finally, all the related Apps are listed on a website for updating.

Feasibility of e-Health Interventions on Smoking Cessation among Vietnamese Active Internet Users

PubMed Central

Tran, Bach Xuan; Le, Xuan Thanh Thi; Nguyen, Phuong Ngoc; Le, Quynh Ngoc Hoang; Mai, Hue Thi; Nguyen, Huong Lan Thi; Le, Huong Thi; Tran, Tung Thanh; Latkin, Carl A.; Zhang, Melvyn W.B.; Ho, Roger C.M.

2018-01-01

Introduction: Although e-health interventions are widely implemented as a supportive measure to smoking cessation, there is a lack of evidence in the feasibility of its application among Vietnamese youths, which is considered to be one of the most frequent internet using populations. This study assessed the quitting attempts among smokers and their preference and willingness to pay for smartphone-based cessation supporting applications in a sample of active internet users approached. Methods: A total of 1082 participants were recruited for the online-based survey from August to October 2015 in Vietnam. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, health information seeking behaviors on the internet, smoking status, quitting attempts and willingness to pay for smartphone-based cessation supporting applications were collected. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the associated factors with current smoking and willingness to pay for the smoking cessation application. Results: About 11% of participants were current smokers while 73.4% had attempted to quit smoking. Only 26.8% of the individuals indicated that they were willing to utilize a smartphone application to assist them in quitting. Participants who were male, had partners/spouse and lived at other places were more likely to smoke cigarette. Meanwhile, people who spent 50–70% of their online time to read health information were less likely to smoke. Results also show that living with family and never sharing health information on the internet were negatively associated with a participant’s willingness to pay for the smartphone application. Meanwhile, people who highly trusted health information were more likely to be willing to pay for the application. Conclusions: This prevalence of smoking and associated factors can provide potential indicators for creating several public health interventions in the new environment with the increasing development of information technology. This study implies that in order to expand the coverage of smoking cessation interventions, we recommend the integration of e-health interventions with clinical- or telephone-based conventional models by providing smartphone applications and information on the internet from reliable sources. PMID:29361694

Smartphone assessment of knee flexion compared to radiographic standards.

PubMed

Dietz, Matthew J; Sprando, Daniel; Hanselman, Andrew E; Regier, Michael D; Frye, Benjamin M

2017-03-01

Measuring knee range of motion (ROM) is an important assessment for the outcomes of total knee arthroplasty. Recent technological advances have led to the development and use of accelerometer-based smartphone applications to measure knee ROM. The purpose of this study was to develop, standardize, and validate methods of utilizing smartphone accelerometer technology compared to radiographic standards, visual estimation, and goniometric evaluation. Participants used visual estimation, a long-arm goniometer, and a smartphone accelerometer to determine range of motion of a cadaveric lower extremity; these results were compared to radiographs taken at the same angles. The optimal smartphone position was determined to be on top of the leg at the distal femur and proximal tibia location. Between methods, it was found that the smartphone and goniometer were comparably reliable in measuring knee flexion (ICC=0.94; 95% CI: 0.91-0.96). Visual estimation was found to be the least reliable method of measurement. The results suggested that the smartphone accelerometer was non-inferior when compared to the other measurement techniques, demonstrated similar deviations from radiographic standards, and did not appear to be influenced by the person performing the measurements or the girth of the extremity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Smartphone Assessment of Knee Flexion Compared to Radiographic Standards

PubMed Central

Dietz, Matthew J.; Sprando, Daniel; Hanselman, Andrew E.; Regier, Michael D.; Frye, Benjamin M.

2017-01-01

Purpose Measuring knee range of motion (ROM) is an important assessment for the outcomes of total knee arthroplasty. Recent technological advances have led to the development and use of accelerometer-based smartphone applications to measure knee ROM. The purpose of this study was to develop, standardize, and validate methods of utilizing smartphone accelerometer technology compared to radiographic standards, visual estimation, and goniometric evaluation. Methods Participants used visual estimation, a long-arm goniometer, and a smartphone accelerometer to determine range of motion of a cadaveric lower extremity; these results were compared to radiographs taken at the same angles. Results The optimal smartphone position was determined to be on top of the leg at the distal femur and proximal tibia location. Between methods, it was found that the smartphone and goniometer were comparably reliable in measuring knee flexion (ICC = 0.94; 95% CI: 0.91–0.96). Visual estimation was found to be the least reliable method of measurement. Conclusions The results suggested that the smartphone accelerometer was non-inferior when compared to the other measurement techniques, demonstrated similar deviations from radiographic standards, and did not appear to be influenced by the person performing the measurements or the girth of the extremity. PMID:28179062

Application of a Smartphone Metabolomics Platform to the Authentication of Schisandra sinensis.

PubMed

Kwon, Hyuk Nam; Phan, Hong-Duc; Xu, Wen Jun; Ko, Yoon-Joo; Park, Sunghyouk

2016-05-01

Herbal medicines have been used for a long time all around the world. Since the quality of herbal preparations depends on the source of herbal materials, there has been a strong need to develop methods to correctly identify the origin of materials. To develop a smartphone metabolomics platform as a simpler and low-cost alternative for the identification of herbal material source. Schisandra sinensis extracts from Korea and China were prepared. The visible spectra of all samples were measured by a smartphone spectrometer platform. This platform included all the necessary measures built-in for the metabolomics research: data acquisition, processing, chemometric analysis and visualisation of the results. The result of the smartphone metabolomics platform was compared to that of NMR-based metabolomics, suggesting the feasibility of smartphone platform in metabolomics research. The smartphone metabolomics platform gave similar results to the NMR method, showing good separation between Korean and Chinese materials and correct predictability for all test samples. With its accuracy and advantages of affordability, user-friendliness, and portability, the smartphone metabolomics platform could be applied to the authentication of other medicinal plants. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Biosensors and bioelectronics on smartphone for portable biochemical detection.

PubMed

Zhang, Diming; Liu, Qingjun

2016-01-15

Smartphone has been widely integrated with sensors, such as test strips, sensor chips, and hand-held detectors, for biochemical detections due to its portability and ubiquitous availability. Utilizing built-in function modules, smartphone is often employed as controller, analyzer, and displayer for rapid, real-time, and point-of-care monitoring, which can significantly simplify design and reduce cost of the detecting systems. This paper presents a review of biosensors and bioelectronics on smartphone for portable biochemical detections. The biosensors and bioelectronics based on smartphone can mainly be classified into biosensors using optics, surface plasmon resonance, electrochemistry, and near-field communication. The developments of these biosensors and bioelectronics on smartphone are reviewed along with typical biochemical detecting cases. Sensor strategies, detector attachments, and coupling methods are highlighted to show designs of the compact, lightweight, and low-cost sensor systems. The performances and advantages of these designs are introduced with their applications in healthcare diagnosis, environment monitoring, and food evaluation. With advances in micro-manufacture, sensor technology, and miniaturized electronics, biosensor and bioelectronic devices on smartphone can be used to perform biochemical detections as common and convenient as electronic tag readout in foreseeable future. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Smartphone users: Understanding how security mechanisms are perceived and new persuasive methods

PubMed Central

Alsaleh, Mansour; Alomar, Noura; Alarifi, Abdulrahman

2017-01-01

Protecting smartphones against security threats is a multidimensional problem involving human and technological factors. This study investigates how smartphone users’ security- and privacy-related decisions are influenced by their attitudes, perceptions, and understanding of various security threats. In this work, we seek to provide quantified insights into smartphone users’ behavior toward multiple key security features including locking mechanisms, application repositories, mobile instant messaging, and smartphone location services. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that reveals often unforeseen correlations and dependencies between various privacy- and security-related behaviors. Our work also provides evidence that making correct security decisions might not necessarily correlate with individuals’ awareness of the consequences of security threats. By comparing participants’ behavior and their motives for adopting or ignoring certain security practices, we suggest implementing additional persuasive approaches that focus on addressing social and technological aspects of the problem. On the basis of our findings and the results presented in the literature, we identify the factors that might influence smartphone users’ security behaviors. We then use our understanding of what might drive and influence significant behavioral changes to propose several platform design modifications that we believe could improve the security levels of smartphones. PMID:28297719

Smartphone-Enabled Health Coach Intervention for People With Diabetes From a Modest Socioeconomic Strata Community: Single-Arm Longitudinal Feasibility Study

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Lower socioeconomic strata (SES) populations have higher chronic disease risks. Smartphone-based interventions can support adoption of health behaviors that may, in turn, reduce the risks of type 2 diabetes-related complications, overcoming the obstacles that some patients may have with regular clinical contact (eg, shiftwork, travel difficulties, miscommunication). Objective The intent of the study was to develop and test a smartphone-assisted intervention that improves behavioral management of type 2 diabetes in an ethnically diverse, lower SES population within an urban community health setting. Methods This single-arm pilot study assessed a smartphone application developed with investigator assistance and delivered by health coaches. Participants were recruited from the Black Creek Community Health Centre in Toronto and had minimal prior experience with smartphones. Results A total of 21 subjects consented and 19 participants completed the 6-month trial; 12 had baseline glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels >7.0% and these subjects demonstrated a mean reduction of 0.43% (SD 0.63) (P<.05) with minimal changes in medication. Conclusions This project supported the feasibility of smartphone-based health coaching for individuals from lower SES with minimal prior smartphone experience. PMID:24907918

Mobile gaming and problematic smartphone use: A comparative study between Belgium and Finland.

PubMed

Lopez-Fernandez, Olatz; Männikkö, Niko; Kääriäinen, Maria; Griffiths, Mark D; Kuss, Daria J

2018-03-01

Background and aims Gaming applications have become one of the main entertainment features on smartphones, and this could be potentially problematic in terms of dangerous, prohibited, and dependent use among a minority of individuals. A cross-national study was conducted in Belgium and Finland. The aim was to examine the relationship between gaming on smartphones and self-perceived problematic smartphone use via an online survey to ascertain potential predictors. Methods The Short Version of the Problematic Mobile Phone Use Questionnaire (PMPUQ-SV) was administered to a sample comprising 899 participants (30% male; age range: 18-67 years). Results Good validity and adequate reliability were confirmed regarding the PMPUQ-SV, especially the dependence subscale, but low prevalence rates were reported in both countries using the scale. Regression analysis showed that downloading, using Facebook, and being stressed contributed to problematic smartphone use. Anxiety emerged as predictor for dependence. Mobile games were used by one-third of the respective populations, but their use did not predict problematic smartphone use. Very few cross-cultural differences were found in relation to gaming through smartphones. Conclusion Findings suggest mobile gaming does not appear to be problematic in Belgium and Finland.

Smartphone-enabled health coach intervention for people with diabetes from a modest socioeconomic strata community: single-arm longitudinal feasibility study.

PubMed

Wayne, Noah; Ritvo, Paul

2014-06-06

Lower socioeconomic strata (SES) populations have higher chronic disease risks. Smartphone-based interventions can support adoption of health behaviors that may, in turn, reduce the risks of type 2 diabetes-related complications, overcoming the obstacles that some patients may have with regular clinical contact (eg, shiftwork, travel difficulties, miscommunication). The intent of the study was to develop and test a smartphone-assisted intervention that improves behavioral management of type 2 diabetes in an ethnically diverse, lower SES population within an urban community health setting. This single-arm pilot study assessed a smartphone application developed with investigator assistance and delivered by health coaches. Participants were recruited from the Black Creek Community Health Centre in Toronto and had minimal prior experience with smartphones. A total of 21 subjects consented and 19 participants completed the 6-month trial; 12 had baseline glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels >7.0% and these subjects demonstrated a mean reduction of 0.43% (SD 0.63) (P<.05) with minimal changes in medication. This project supported the feasibility of smartphone-based health coaching for individuals from lower SES with minimal prior smartphone experience.

Smartphone users: Understanding how security mechanisms are perceived and new persuasive methods.

PubMed

Alsaleh, Mansour; Alomar, Noura; Alarifi, Abdulrahman

2017-01-01

Protecting smartphones against security threats is a multidimensional problem involving human and technological factors. This study investigates how smartphone users' security- and privacy-related decisions are influenced by their attitudes, perceptions, and understanding of various security threats. In this work, we seek to provide quantified insights into smartphone users' behavior toward multiple key security features including locking mechanisms, application repositories, mobile instant messaging, and smartphone location services. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that reveals often unforeseen correlations and dependencies between various privacy- and security-related behaviors. Our work also provides evidence that making correct security decisions might not necessarily correlate with individuals' awareness of the consequences of security threats. By comparing participants' behavior and their motives for adopting or ignoring certain security practices, we suggest implementing additional persuasive approaches that focus on addressing social and technological aspects of the problem. On the basis of our findings and the results presented in the literature, we identify the factors that might influence smartphone users' security behaviors. We then use our understanding of what might drive and influence significant behavioral changes to propose several platform design modifications that we believe could improve the security levels of smartphones.

vitisFlower®: Development and Testing of a Novel Android-Smartphone Application for Assessing the Number of Grapevine Flowers per Inflorescence Using Artificial Vision Techniques.

PubMed

Aquino, Arturo; Millan, Borja; Gaston, Daniel; Diago, María-Paz; Tardaguila, Javier

2015-08-28

Grapevine flowering and fruit set greatly determine crop yield. This paper presents a new smartphone application for automatically counting, non-invasively and directly in the vineyard, the flower number in grapevine inflorescence photos by implementing artificial vision techniques. The application, called vitisFlower(®), firstly guides the user to appropriately take an inflorescence photo using the smartphone's camera. Then, by means of image analysis, the flowers in the image are detected and counted. vitisFlower(®) has been developed for Android devices and uses the OpenCV libraries to maximize computational efficiency. The application was tested on 140 inflorescence images of 11 grapevine varieties taken with two different devices. On average, more than 84% of flowers in the captures were found, with a precision exceeding 94%. Additionally, the application's efficiency on four different devices covering a wide range of the market's spectrum was also studied. The results of this benchmarking study showed significant differences among devices, although indicating that the application is efficiently usable even with low-range devices. vitisFlower is one of the first applications for viticulture that is currently freely available on Google Play.

Measurement of Knee Rotation Angles Using a Smartphone Application: An Experimental Study of Porcine Knees.

PubMed

Kim, Hee-June; Lee, Hyun-Joo; Shin, Ji-Yeon; Choi, Young-Seo; Kyung, Hee-Soo

2017-12-01

This study evaluated the efficacy of a smartphone application in the measurement of rotation angles in porcine knees. Two K-wires were fixated to the femoral condyle and anterior tibial crest of 10 porcine legs. The angle created between the K-wires with an external rotation force applied was measured on a photograph and defined as the true angle. The same force was applied to the legs placed on a splint with a smartphone attached to the plantar side. The angle presented on a smartphone application was determined as the measured angle. The differences between the true and measured angles in 30° and 90° knee flexion and differences in measured angles depending on the status of the popliteus tendon were compared. In the intact knees, the mean true angles in 30° and 90° flexion were 20.5°±1.4° and 19.1°±1.3°, respectively, and the mean measured angles in 30° and 90° flexion were 21.1°±0.9° and 18.6°±1.6°, respectively. When the popliteus tendon was cut, the mean true angles in 30° and 90° flexion were 31.4°±1.1° and 38.5°±2.5°, respectively, and the mean measured angles in 30° and 90° flexion were 31.8°±1.2° and 39.2°±2.8°, respectively. The differences between the true and measured angles were not significant. The measured angle increased by more than 10° after cutting of the popliteus tendon in both 30° and 90° flexion. Using a smartphone application could be a good method of measuring knee rotation.

Smartphone application for mechanical quality assurance of medical linear accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hwiyoung; Lee, Hyunseok; In Park, Jong; Choi, Chang Heon; Park, So-Yeon; Kim, Hee Jung; Kim, Young Suk; Ye, Sung-Joon

2017-06-01

Mechanical quality assurance (QA) of medical linear accelerators consists of time-consuming and human-error-prone procedures. We developed a smartphone application system for mechanical QA. The system consists of two smartphones: one attached to a gantry for obtaining real-time information on the mechanical parameters of the medical linear accelerator, and another displaying real-time information via a Bluetooth connection with the former. Motion sensors embedded in the smartphone were used to measure gantry and collimator rotations. Images taken by the smartphone’s high-resolution camera were processed to evaluate accuracies of jaw-positioning, crosshair centering and source-to-surface distance (SSD). The application was developed using Android software development kit and OpenCV library. The accuracy and precision of the system was validated against an optical rotation stage and digital calipers, prior to routine QA measurements of five medical linear accelerators. The system accuracy and precision in measuring angles and lengths were determined to be 0.05  ±  0.05° and 0.25  ±  0.14 mm, respectively. The mean absolute errors (MAEs) in QA measurements of gantry and collimator rotation were 0.05  ±  0.04° and 0.05  ±  0.04°, respectively. The MAE in QA measurements of light field was 0.39  ±  0.36 mm. The MAEs in QA measurements of crosshair centering and SSD were 0.40  ±  0.35 mm and 0.41  ±  0.32 mm, respectively. In conclusion, most routine mechanical QA procedures could be performed using the smartphone application system with improved precision and within a shorter time-frame, while eliminating potential human errors.

Diagnostic Performance of a Smartphone-Based Photoplethysmographic Application for Atrial Fibrillation Screening in a Primary Care Setting.

PubMed

Chan, Pak-Hei; Wong, Chun-Ka; Poh, Yukkee C; Pun, Louise; Leung, Wangie Wan-Chiu; Wong, Yu-Fai; Wong, Michelle Man-Ying; Poh, Ming-Zher; Chu, Daniel Wai-Sing; Siu, Chung-Wah

2016-07-21

Diagnosing atrial fibrillation (AF) before ischemic stroke occurs is a priority for stroke prevention in AF. Smartphone camera-based photoplethysmographic (PPG) pulse waveform measurement discriminates between different heart rhythms, but its ability to diagnose AF in real-world situations has not been adequately investigated. We sought to assess the diagnostic performance of a standalone smartphone PPG application, Cardiio Rhythm, for AF screening in primary care setting. Patients with hypertension, with diabetes mellitus, and/or aged ≥65 years were recruited. A single-lead ECG was recorded by using the AliveCor heart monitor with tracings reviewed subsequently by 2 cardiologists to provide the reference standard. PPG measurements were performed by using the Cardiio Rhythm smartphone application. AF was diagnosed in 28 (2.76%) of 1013 participants. The diagnostic sensitivity of the Cardiio Rhythm for AF detection was 92.9% (95% CI] 77-99%) and was higher than that of the AliveCor automated algorithm (71.4% [95% CI 51-87%]). The specificities of Cardiio Rhythm and the AliveCor automated algorithm were comparable (97.7% [95% CI: 97-99%] versus 99.4% [95% CI 99-100%]). The positive predictive value of the Cardiio Rhythm was lower than that of the AliveCor automated algorithm (53.1% [95% CI 38-67%] versus 76.9% [95% CI 56-91%]); both had a very high negative predictive value (99.8% [95% CI 99-100%] versus 99.2% [95% CI 98-100%]). The Cardiio Rhythm smartphone PPG application provides an accurate and reliable means to detect AF in patients at risk of developing AF and has the potential to enable population-based screening for AF. © 2016 The Authors. Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley Blackwell.

MO-FG-303-04: A Smartphone Application for Automated Mechanical Quality Assurance of Medical Accelerators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, H; Lee, H; Choi, K

Purpose: The mechanical quality assurance (QA) of medical accelerators consists of a time consuming series of procedures. Since most of the procedures are done manually – e.g., checking gantry rotation angle with the naked eye using a level attached to the gantry –, it is considered to be a process with high potential for human errors. To remove the possibilities of human errors and reduce the procedure duration, we developed a smartphone application for automated mechanical QA. Methods: The preparation for the automated process was done by attaching a smartphone to the gantry facing upward. For the assessments of gantrymore » and collimator angle indications, motion sensors (gyroscope, accelerator, and magnetic field sensor) embedded in the smartphone were used. For the assessments of jaw position indicator, cross-hair centering, and optical distance indicator (ODI), an optical-image processing module using a picture taken by the high-resolution camera embedded in the smartphone was implemented. The application was developed with the Android software development kit (SDK) and OpenCV library. Results: The system accuracies in terms of angle detection error and length detection error were < 0.1° and < 1 mm, respectively. The mean absolute error for gantry and collimator rotation angles were 0.03° and 0.041°, respectively. The mean absolute error for the measured light field size was 0.067 cm. Conclusion: The automated system we developed can be used for the mechanical QA of medical accelerators with proven accuracy. For more convenient use of this application, the wireless communication module is under development. This system has a strong potential for the automation of the other QA procedures such as light/radiation field coincidence and couch translation/rotations.« less

Development and Implementation of a Smartphone Application to Promote Physical Activity and Reduce Screen-Time in Adolescent Boys

PubMed Central

Lubans, David R.; Smith, Jordan J.; Skinner, Geoff; Morgan, Philip J.

2014-01-01

Purpose: To describe the development and implementation of a smartphone application (app) designed to promote physical activity and reduce screen-time in adolescent boys considered “at-risk” of obesity. Methods: An app was developed to support the delivery of a face-to-face school-based obesity prevention program known as the “Active Teen Leaders Avoiding Screen-time” (ATLAS) program. ATLAS was guided by self-determination theory and social cognitive theory and evaluated using a cluster randomized controlled trial with 361 boys (12.7 ± 0.5 years) in 14 secondary schools. Following the completion of the study, participants in the intervention group completed a process evaluation questionnaire and focus groups were conducted with 42 students to explore their general perceptions of the ATLAS program and their experience with the smartphone app. Barriers and challenges encountered in the development, implementation, and evaluation of the app are also described. Results: Participation in the study was not contingent on ownership of a smartphone, but 70% of participants in the intervention group reported having access to a smartphone or tablet device. Focus group participants reported an enjoyment of the program, and felt that it had provided them with new skills, techniques, and routines for the future. However, their engagement with the smartphone app was limited, due to a variety of reasons. Barriers to the implementation and evaluation of the app included limited access to smartphone devices, technical problems with the push notifications, lack of access to usage data, and the challenges of maintaining participants’ interest in using the app. Conclusion: Although participants reported high levels of satisfaction with the ATLAS program in general, the smartphone app was not used extensively. Additional strategies and features may be needed to enhance engagement in adolescent boys. PMID:24904909

Smartphone Application Enabling Global Graph Exploitation and Proactive Dissemination Service (DSPro) Integration (Revised Fiscal Year 2015)

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-01

interface. 15. SUBJECT TERMS smartphone, HDPT, global graph, DSPro, ozone widget framework, distributed common ground system, web service 16. SECURITY...Lee M. Lessons learned with a global graph and ozone widget framework (OWF) testbed. Aberdeen Proving Ground (MD): Army Research Laboratory (US); 2013

Smart truck driver assistant : a cost effective solution for real time management of container delivery to trucks: [research brief].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-12-01

In this project, we developed a mobile application (app) that utilizes the rich environment and features of smartphones. Our app uses the widely available resources of smartphones (at no additional cost to drivers or terminals) to collect data from p...

Exergame Apps and Physical Activity: The Results of the ZOMBIE Trial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cowdery, Joan; Majeske, Paul; Frank, Rebecca; Brown, Devin

2015-01-01

Background: Although there are thousands of health and fitness smartphone apps currently available, little research exists regarding the effects of mobile app technology on physical activity behavior. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test whether Exergame smartphone applications increase physical activity levels. Methods: This was a…

Smartphone Magnification Attachment: Microscope or Magnifying Glass

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hergemöller, Timo; Laumann, Daniel

2017-01-01

Today smartphones and tablets do not merely pervade our daily life, but also play a major role in STEM education in general, and in experimental investigations in particular. Enabling teachers and students to make use of these new techniques in physics lessons requires supplying capable and affordable applications. Our article presents the…

Primary School Principals' Experiences with Smartphone Apps

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Çakir, Rahman; Aktay, Sayim

2016-01-01

Smartphones are not just pieces of hardware, they at same time also dip into software features such as communication systems. The aim of this study is to examine primary school principals' experiences with smart phone applications. Shedding light on this subject means that this research is qualitative. Criterion sampling has been intentionally…

Smartphone-based “Geofencing” to Ascertain Hospitalizations

PubMed Central

Nguyen, Kaylin T.; Olgin, Jeffrey E.; Pletcher, Mark J.; Ng, Madelena; Kaye, Leanne; Moturu, Sai; Gladstone, Rachel A.; Malladi, Chaitanya; Fann, Amy H.; Maguire, Carol; Bettencourt, Laura; Christensen, Matthew A.; Marcus, Gregory M.

2017-01-01

Background Ascertainment of hospitalizations is critical to assess quality of care and the effectiveness and adverse effects of various therapies. Smartphones, mobile geo-locators that are ubiquitous, have not been leveraged to ascertain hospitalizations. Therefore, we evaluated the use of smartphone-based “geofencing” to track hospitalizations. Methods and Results Participants ages ≥ 18 years installed a mobile application programmed to “geofence” all hospitals using global positioning systems and cell phone tower triangulation and to trigger a smartphone-based questionnaire when located in a hospital for ≥ 4 hours. An “in-person” study included consecutive consenting patients scheduled for electrophysiology and cardiac catheterization procedures. A “remote” arm invited Health eHeart Study participants that consented and engaged with the study via the internet only. The accuracy of application-detected hospitalizations was confirmed by medical record review as the reference standard. Of 22 eligible “in-person” patients, 17 hospitalizations were detected (sensitivity 77%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 55-92%). The length of stay according to the application was positively correlated with the length of stay ascertained via the electronic medical record (r=0.53, p=0.03). In the remote arm, the application was downloaded by 3,443 participants residing in all 50 U.S. states; 243 hospital visits at 119 different hospitals were detected through the application. The positive predictive value for an application-reported hospitalization was 65% (95% CI 57-72%). Conclusions Mobile application-based ascertainment of hospitalizations can be achieved with modest accuracy. This first proof of concept may ultimately be applicable to “geofencing” other types of prespecified locations to facilitate healthcare research and patient care. PMID:28325751

Evaluation of smartphone oral contraceptive reminder applications.

PubMed

Gal, Noga; Zite, Nikki B; Wallace, Lorraine S

2015-01-01

Oral contraceptives (OCs) are the most widely used contraceptive method among women of reproductive age in the United States (US). Routine download and use of health-related smartphone applications (apps) continues to increase. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of English-language, smartphone-platform OC reminder apps currently available for download in the US. During June-July 2013, official Internet-based, mobile app platforms for the two major smartphone operating systems in the US-Android (Google Play Store) and iPhone (iTunes)-were searched. "Birth control," "the pill," and "contraception" were entered into the search-bar of each Smartphone store. Apps were assessed for the following: cost, health care professionals' involvement in app development, reminder mechanisms, and functionality. Of the 39 unique OC reminder apps meeting inclusion criteria, 7 (18%) did not operate as intended when downloaded. Most apps functioned without an Internet connection (97%) and included pop-up notifications (84%). Certain app features overcome common causes of missing an alarm, and hypothetically, may minimize likelihood of an OC user missing a daily pill. Health care providers should inform users of potential pitfalls and advise them that an OC reminder app should be not be used as a sole reminder method. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Modernising speech audiometry: using a smartphone application to test word recognition.

PubMed

van Zyl, Marianne; Swanepoel, De Wet; Myburgh, Hermanus C

2018-04-20

This study aimed to develop and assess a method to measure word recognition abilities using a smartphone application (App) connected to an audiometer. Word lists were recorded in South African English and Afrikaans. Analyses were conducted to determine the effect of hardware used for presentation (computer, compact-disc player, or smartphone) on the frequency content of recordings. An Android App was developed to enable presentation of recorded materials via a smartphone connected to the auxiliary input of the audiometer. Experiments were performed to test feasibility and validity of the developed App and recordings. Participants were 100 young adults (18-30 years) with pure tone thresholds ≤15 dB across the frequency spectrum (250-8000 Hz). Hardware used for presentation had no significant effect on the frequency content of recordings. Listening experiments indicated good inter-list reliability for recordings in both languages, with no significant differences between scores on different lists at each of the tested intensities. Performance-intensity functions had slopes of 4.05%/dB for English and 4.75%/dB for Afrikaans lists at the 50% point. The developed smartphone App constitutes a feasible and valid method for measuring word recognition scores, and can support standardisation and accessibility of recorded speech audiometry.

A lot of action, but not in the right direction: systematic review and content analysis of smartphone applications for the prevention, detection, and management of cancer.

PubMed

Bender, Jacqueline Lorene; Yue, Rossini Ying Kwan; To, Matthew Jason; Deacken, Laetitia; Jadad, Alejandro R

2013-12-23

Mobile phones have become nearly ubiquitous, offering a promising means to deliver health interventions. However, little is known about smartphone applications (apps) for cancer. The purpose of this study was to characterize the purpose and content of cancer-focused smartphone apps available for use by the general public and the evidence on their utility or effectiveness. We conducted a systematic review of the official application stores for the four major smartphone platforms: iPhone, Android, Nokia, and BlackBerry. Apps were included in the review if they were focused on cancer and available for use by the general public. This was complemented by a systematic review of literature from MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library to identify evaluations of cancer-related smartphone apps. A total of 295 apps from the smartphone app stores met the inclusion criteria. The majority of apps targeted breast cancer (46.8%, 138/295) or cancer in general (28.5%, 84/295). The reported app purpose was predominantly to raise awareness about cancer (32.2%, 95/295) or to provide educational information about cancer (26.4%, 78/295), followed by apps to support fundraising efforts (12.9%, 38/295), assist in early detection (11.5%, 34/295), promote a charitable organization (10.2%, 30/295), support disease management (3.7%, 11/295), cancer prevention (2.0%, 6/295), or social support (1.0%, 3/295). The majority of the apps did not describe their organizational affiliation (64.1%, 189/295). Apps affiliated with non-profit organizations were more likely to be free of cost (χ(2) 1=16.3, P<.001) and have a fundraising or awareness purpose (χ(2) 2=13.3, P=.001). The review of the health literature yielded 594 articles, none of which reported an evaluation of a cancer-focused smartphone application. There are hundreds of cancer-focused apps with the potential to enhance efforts to promote behavior change, to monitor a host of symptoms and physiological indicators of disease, and to provide real-time supportive interventions, conveniently and at low cost. However, there is a lack of evidence on their utility, effectiveness, and safety. Future efforts should focus on improving and consolidating the evidence base into a whitelist for public consumption.

A Lot of Action, But Not in the Right Direction: Systematic Review and Content Analysis of Smartphone Applications for the Prevention, Detection, and Management of Cancer

PubMed Central

Yue, Rossini Ying Kwan; To, Matthew Jason; Deacken, Laetitia; Jadad, Alejandro R

2013-01-01

Background Mobile phones have become nearly ubiquitous, offering a promising means to deliver health interventions. However, little is known about smartphone applications (apps) for cancer. Objective The purpose of this study was to characterize the purpose and content of cancer-focused smartphone apps available for use by the general public and the evidence on their utility or effectiveness. Methods We conducted a systematic review of the official application stores for the four major smartphone platforms: iPhone, Android, Nokia, and BlackBerry. Apps were included in the review if they were focused on cancer and available for use by the general public. This was complemented by a systematic review of literature from MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library to identify evaluations of cancer-related smartphone apps. Results A total of 295 apps from the smartphone app stores met the inclusion criteria. The majority of apps targeted breast cancer (46.8%, 138/295) or cancer in general (28.5%, 84/295). The reported app purpose was predominantly to raise awareness about cancer (32.2%, 95/295) or to provide educational information about cancer (26.4%, 78/295), followed by apps to support fundraising efforts (12.9%, 38/295), assist in early detection (11.5%, 34/295), promote a charitable organization (10.2%, 30/295), support disease management (3.7%, 11/295), cancer prevention (2.0%, 6/295), or social support (1.0%, 3/295). The majority of the apps did not describe their organizational affiliation (64.1%, 189/295). Apps affiliated with non-profit organizations were more likely to be free of cost (χ2 1=16.3, P<.001) and have a fundraising or awareness purpose (χ2 2=13.3, P=.001). The review of the health literature yielded 594 articles, none of which reported an evaluation of a cancer-focused smartphone application. Conclusions There are hundreds of cancer-focused apps with the potential to enhance efforts to promote behavior change, to monitor a host of symptoms and physiological indicators of disease, and to provide real-time supportive interventions, conveniently and at low cost. However, there is a lack of evidence on their utility, effectiveness, and safety. Future efforts should focus on improving and consolidating the evidence base into a whitelist for public consumption. PMID:24366061

[Development and effectiveness of a drug dosage calculation training program using cognitive loading theory based on smartphone application].

PubMed

Kim, Myoung Soo; Park, Jung Ha; Park, Kyung Yeon

2012-10-01

This study was done to develop and evaluate a drug dosage calculation training program using cognitive loading theory based on a smartphone application. Calculation ability, dosage calculation related self-efficacy and anxiety were measured. A nonequivalent control group design was used. Smartphone application and a handout for self-study were developed and administered to the experimental group and only a handout was provided for control group. Intervention period was 4 weeks. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, χ²-test, t-test, and ANCOVA with the SPSS 18.0. The experimental group showed more 'self-efficacy for drug dosage calculation' than the control group (t=3.82, p<.001). Experimental group students had higher ability to perform drug dosage calculations than control group students (t=3.98, p<.001), with regard to 'metric conversion' (t=2.25, p=.027), 'table dosage calculation' (t=2.20, p=.031) and 'drop rate calculation' (t=4.60, p<.001). There was no difference in improvement in 'anxiety for drug dosage calculation'. Mean satisfaction score for the program was 86.1. These results indicate that this drug dosage calculation training program using smartphone application is effective in improving dosage calculation related self-efficacy and calculation ability. Further study should be done to develop additional interventions for reducing anxiety.

A systematic review of the effectiveness of smartphone applications that encourage dietary self-regulatory strategies for weight loss in overweight and obese adults.

PubMed

Semper, H M; Povey, R; Clark-Carter, D

2016-09-01

The aim of this paper is to systematically review the evidence to explore whether smartphone applications that use self-regulatory strategies are beneficial for weight loss in overweight and obese adults over the age of 18 years. Sixteen electronic databases were searched for articles published up to April 2015 including MEDLINE, OVID, Ingenta, PSYCARTICLES and PSYCINFO, CINAHL, Sportdiscus, Science Direct, Web of Knowledge, Cochrane Library, JSTOR, EBSCO, Proquest, Wiley and Google Scholar. Twenty nine eligible studies were retrieved of which six studies met the inclusion criteria. Studies that recruited participants under the age of 18 years, adults with a chronic condition or did not report weight loss outcomes were excluded. Study findings were combined using a narrative synthesis. Overall, evidence suggests that smartphone applications may be a useful tool for self-regulating diet for weight loss as participants in the smartphone application group in all studies lost at least some bodyweight. However, when compared to other self-monitoring methods, there was no significant difference in the amount of weight lost. Findings should be interpreted with caution based on the design of the studies and the comparator groups used. Future research needs to be more methodologically rigorous and incorporate measures of whether eating habits become healthier in addition to measuring weight and BMI. © 2016 World Obesity.

Analyzing spring pendulum phenomena with a smart-phone acceleration sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuhn, Jochen; Vogt, Patrik

2012-11-01

This paper describes two further pendulum experiments using the acceleration sensor of a smartphone in this column (for earlier contributions concerning this topic, including the description of the operation and use of the acceleration sensor, see Refs. 1 and 2). In this paper we focus on analyzing spring pendulum phenomena. Therefore two spring pendulum experiments will be described in which a smartphone is used as a pendulum body and SPARKvue3 software is used in conjunction with an iPhone or an iPod touch, or the Accelogger4 app for an Android device.1,2 As described in Ref. 1, the values measured by the smartphone are subsequently exported to a spreadsheet application (e.g., MS Excel) for analysis.

iGuide to plastic surgery: iPhone apps, the plastic surgeon, and the health care environment.

PubMed

Mohan, Anita Tanniru; Branford, Olivier Alexandre

2012-07-01

The growth in the adoption of smartphones among clinicians has been phenomenal. The demand for medical applications, or "apps," downloaded by smartphone users has led to the development of practical and educational apps for clinicians, medical students, and patients. In addition to being a valuable resource for the clinician, mobile technologies are revolutionizing the nature and delivery of health care services. This article summarizes the current trends in the smartphone market and explores the medical apps that are currently available.

Smartphone chloridometer for point-of-care applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Chenji; Kim, Jimin P.; Creer, Michael; Yang, Jian; Liu, Zhiwen

2017-08-01

Chloride level in sweat is a major diagnostic criterion for cystic fibrosis (CF) and many other health conditions. In an effort to develop a low cost, point-of-care sweat diagnostics system for chloride concentration measurement, we demonstrated a smartphone-based chloridometer to measure sweat chloride by using our recently developed fluorescence chloride sensor. We characterized the performance of our device to validate its clinical potential. The study indicates that our smartphone-based chloridometer may potentially advance the point-of-care diagnostic system by reducing cost and improving diagnostic accuracy.

Smartphones, tablets and mobile applications for radiology.

PubMed

Székely, András; Talanow, Roland; Bágyi, Péter

2013-05-01

Smartphones are phone devices that may also be used for browsing, navigation and running smaller computer programs called applications. One may consider them as compact personal computers which are primarily to be used for making phone calls. Tablets or "tablet PCs" are fully functioning standalone computers the size of a thin LCD monitor that use the screen itself for control and data input. Both of these devices may be categorized based on the mobile operating system that they use. The aim of this study is to illustrate how smartphones and tablets can be used by diagnostic imaging professionals, radiographers and residents, and to introduce relevant applications that are available for their field. A search was performed on iTunes, Android Market, Blackberry App World, and Windows Phone Marketplace for mobile applications pertinent to the field of diagnostic imaging. The following terms were applied for the search strategy: (1) radiology, (2) X-ray, (3) ultrasound, (4) MRI, (5) CT, (6) radiographer, (7) nuclear medicine. Two radiologists and one radiology resident reviewed the results. Our review was limited to english-language software. Additional applications were identified by reviewing the list of similar software provided in the description of each application. We downloaded and installed all applications that appeared relevant to an appropriate mobile phone or tablet device. We identified and reviewed a total of 102 applications. We ruled out 1 non-English application and 20 other applications that were created for entertainment purposes. Thus our final list includes 81 applications in the following five categories: diagnostic reading, decision support applications, medical books, interactive encyclopedias, and journal reading programs. Smartphones and tablets offer new opportunities for diagnostic imaging practitioners; these easy-to-use devices equipped with excellent display may be used for diagnostic reading, reference, learning, consultation, and for communication with patients. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of the smartphone-based colorimetry for multi-analyte sensing arrays.

PubMed

Hong, Jong Il; Chang, Byoung-Yong

2014-05-21

Here we report development of a smartphone app (application) that digitizes the colours of a colorimetric sensor array. A conventional colorimetric sensor array consists of multiple paper-based sensors, and reports the detection results in terms of colour change. Evaluation of the colour changes is normally done by the naked eye, which may cause uncertainties due to personal subjectivity and the surrounding conditions. Solutions have been particularly sought in smartphones as they are capable of spectrometric functions. Our report specifically focuses on development of a practical app for immediate point-of-care (POC) multi-analyte sensing without additional devices. First, the individual positions of the sensors are automatically identified by the smartphone; second, the colours measured at each sensor are digitized based on a correction algorithm; and third, the corrected colours are converted to concentration values by pre-loaded calibration curves. All through these sequential processes, the sensor array taken in a smartphone snapshot undergoes laboratory-level spectrometry. The advantages of inexpensive and convenient paper-based colorimetry and the ubiquitous smartphone are tied to achieve a ready-to-go POC diagnosis.

Smartphone-based low light detection for bioluminescence application.

PubMed

Kim, Huisung; Jung, Youngkee; Doh, Iyll-Joon; Lozano-Mahecha, Roxana Andrea; Applegate, Bruce; Bae, Euiwon

2017-01-09

We report a smartphone-based device and associated imaging-processing algorithm to maximize the sensitivity of standard smartphone cameras, that can detect the presence of single-digit pW of radiant flux intensity. The proposed hardware and software, called bioluminescent-based analyte quantitation by smartphone (BAQS), provides an opportunity for onsite analysis and quantitation of luminescent signals from biological and non-biological sensing elements which emit photons in response to an analyte. A simple cradle that houses the smartphone, sample tube, and collection lens supports the measuring platform, while noise reduction by ensemble averaging simultaneously lowers the background and enhances the signal from emitted photons. Five different types of smartphones, both Android and iOS devices, were tested, and the top two candidates were used to evaluate luminescence from the bioluminescent reporter Pseudomonas fluorescens M3A. The best results were achieved by OnePlus One (android), which was able to detect luminescence from ~10 6  CFU/mL of the bio-reporter, which corresponds to ~10 7 photons/s with 180 seconds of integration time.

Smartphone-based low light detection for bioluminescence application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Huisung; Jung, Youngkee; Doh, Iyll-Joon; Lozano-Mahecha, Roxana Andrea; Applegate, Bruce; Bae, Euiwon

2017-01-01

We report a smartphone-based device and associated imaging-processing algorithm to maximize the sensitivity of standard smartphone cameras, that can detect the presence of single-digit pW of radiant flux intensity. The proposed hardware and software, called bioluminescent-based analyte quantitation by smartphone (BAQS), provides an opportunity for onsite analysis and quantitation of luminescent signals from biological and non-biological sensing elements which emit photons in response to an analyte. A simple cradle that houses the smartphone, sample tube, and collection lens supports the measuring platform, while noise reduction by ensemble averaging simultaneously lowers the background and enhances the signal from emitted photons. Five different types of smartphones, both Android and iOS devices, were tested, and the top two candidates were used to evaluate luminescence from the bioluminescent reporter Pseudomonas fluorescens M3A. The best results were achieved by OnePlus One (android), which was able to detect luminescence from ~106 CFU/mL of the bio-reporter, which corresponds to ~107 photons/s with 180 seconds of integration time.

Smartphone-based low light detection for bioluminescence application

PubMed Central

Kim, Huisung; Jung, Youngkee; Doh, Iyll-Joon; Lozano-Mahecha, Roxana Andrea; Applegate, Bruce; Bae, Euiwon

2017-01-01

We report a smartphone-based device and associated imaging-processing algorithm to maximize the sensitivity of standard smartphone cameras, that can detect the presence of single-digit pW of radiant flux intensity. The proposed hardware and software, called bioluminescent-based analyte quantitation by smartphone (BAQS), provides an opportunity for onsite analysis and quantitation of luminescent signals from biological and non-biological sensing elements which emit photons in response to an analyte. A simple cradle that houses the smartphone, sample tube, and collection lens supports the measuring platform, while noise reduction by ensemble averaging simultaneously lowers the background and enhances the signal from emitted photons. Five different types of smartphones, both Android and iOS devices, were tested, and the top two candidates were used to evaluate luminescence from the bioluminescent reporter Pseudomonas fluorescens M3A. The best results were achieved by OnePlus One (android), which was able to detect luminescence from ~106 CFU/mL of the bio-reporter, which corresponds to ~107 photons/s with 180 seconds of integration time. PMID:28067287

Willingness to use mobile application for smartphone for improving road safety.

PubMed

Cardamone, Angelo Stephen; Eboli, Laura; Forciniti, Carmen; Mazzulla, Gabriella

2016-01-01

In the last few years mobile devices have reached a large amount of consumers in both developed and high-growth world economies. In 2013, 97% of the Italian population owns a mobile phone, and 62% owns a smartphone. Application software for mobile devices is largely proposed to consumers, and several mobile applications were oriented toward the improvement of road safety and road accident risk reduction. In this paper, we describe the results of a survey oriented to preventively investigate on the willingness to receive and/or to give information about road condition by means of mobile devices. Road users were informed about the characteristics of a mobile application, and then they were invited to complete a questionnaire. Experimental data were used for capturing road user attitudes toward the use of the smartphone to improve road safety, and to establish the preferences for the different features of the proposed mobile application. To this end, we choose to use the ordered probit model methodology. We demonstrate that the adopted methodology accounts for the differential impacts of the willingness to receive and/or to give information about road conditions on the overall willingness to receive and/or to give information through an application software for mobile devices.

Adapting smart phone applications about physics education to blind students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bülbül, M. Ş.; Yiğit, N.; Garip, B.

2016-04-01

Today, most of necessary equipment in a physics laboratory are available for smartphone users via applications. Physics teachers may measure from acceleration to sound volume with its internal sensors. These sensors collect data and smartphone applications make the raw data visible. Teachers who do not have well-equipped laboratories at their schools may have an opportunity to conduct experiments with the help of smart phones. In this study, we analyzed possible open source physics education applications in terms of blind users in inclusive learning environments. All apps are categorized as partially, full or non-supported. The roles of blind learner’s friend during the application are categorized as reader, describer or user. Mentioned apps in the study are compared with additional opportunities like size and downloading rates. Out of using apps we may also get information about whether via internet and some other extra information for different experiments in physics lab. Q-codes reading or augmented reality are two other opportunity provided by smart phones for users in physics labs. We also summarized blind learner’s smartphone experiences from literature and listed some suggestions for application designers about concepts in physics.

MyHealthAssistant: an event-driven middleware for multiple medical applications on a smartphone-mediated body sensor network.

PubMed

Seeger, Christian; Van Laerhoven, Kristof; Buchmann, Alejandro

2015-03-01

An ever-growing range of wireless sensors for medical monitoring has shown that there is significant interest in monitoring patients in their everyday surroundings. It however remains a challenge to merge information from several wireless sensors and applications are commonly built from scratch. This paper presents a middleware targeted for medical applications on smartphone-like platforms that relies on an event-based design to enable flexible coupling with changing sets of wireless sensor units, while posing only a minor overhead on the resources and battery capacity of the interconnected devices. We illustrate the requirements for such middleware with three different healthcare applications that were deployed with our middleware solution, and characterize the performance with energy consumption, overhead caused for the smartphone, and processing time under real-world circumstances. Results show that with sensing-intensive applications, our solution only minimally impacts the phone's resources, with an added CPU utilization of 3% and a memory usage under 7 MB. Furthermore, for a minimum message delivery ratio of 99.9%, up to 12 sensor readings per second are guaranteed to be handled, regardless of the number of applications using our middleware.

Smartphone applications: potential tools for use in preparing for CCRN certification examinations.

PubMed

Curran, Claire

2014-06-01

Recent advances in smartphone technology now allow clinicians to use commercially produced applications when studying for nursing certification examinations. The quality of currently available CCRN review applications varies in this first generation of products. Most are limited to multiple-choice practice questions, although a few have additional elements such as study guides and reference charts. Weaknesses found in the applications evaluated include poorly written and edited content, questions limited to rote memorization rather than application and analysis of knowledge, and content too basic or outside the scope of experienced critical care nursing practice. A list of important factors for consumers to consider before purchase is provided. ©2014 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

Mobile Phone-Based Joint Angle Measurement for Functional Assessment and Rehabilitation of Proprioception

PubMed Central

Mourcou, Quentin; Fleury, Anthony; Diot, Bruno; Franco, Céline; Vuillerme, Nicolas

2015-01-01

Assessment of joint functional and proprioceptive abilities is essential for balance, posture, and motor control rehabilitation. Joint functional ability refers to the capacity of movement of the joint. It may be evaluated thereby measuring the joint range of motion (ROM). Proprioception can be defined as the perception of the position and of the movement of various body parts in space. Its role is essential in sensorimotor control for movement acuity, joint stability, coordination, and balance. Its clinical evaluation is commonly based on the assessment of the joint position sense (JPS). Both ROM and JPS measurements require estimating angles through goniometer, scoliometer, laser-pointer, and bubble or digital inclinometer. With the arrival of Smartphones, these costly clinical tools tend to be replaced. Beyond evaluation, maintaining and/or improving joint functional and proprioceptive abilities by training with physical therapy is important for long-term management. This review aims to report Smartphone applications used for measuring and improving functional and proprioceptive abilities. It identifies that Smartphone applications are reliable for clinical measurements and are mainly used to assess ROM and JPS. However, there is lack of studies on Smartphone applications which can be used in an autonomous way to provide physical therapy exercises at home. PMID:26583101

Smartphones: From Distraction to Attraction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barchilon Ben-Av, Mercedes; Ben-Av, Radel

2016-01-01

Recently, there is an explosive growth of smartphone availability. In this work, we studied how mobile and Internet-based Student Response System improves the learning process. We used a free software application (Socrative©) to create a set of questions that can be deployed during the class. It was used in four different courses in three…

"I Found It!" a Smartphone GPS Treasure-Hunting Game in a Flipped English Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freiermuth, Mark R.

2017-01-01

In this project, 10 female Japanese students in the "Advanced Interpersonal Communication" course at a Japanese university used smartphone technology and a downloaded application to search for containers (called caches or geocaches) that had been hidden near the university campus by their instructor. The instructor placed different…

Educational Scenarios with Smartphones in Cultural Heritage Sites and Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Styliaras, Georgios; Koukopoulos, Dimitrios

2012-01-01

The needs of everyday life for communication and interactivity anywhere and at anytime have led to the tremendous development of mobile devices and applications. Nowadays, we want to have access to enhanced services with high quality at indoor and outdoor environments. Smartphone is a clever new media that supports interactivity and communication…

Shape Shifting Smart Phones: Riding the Waves in Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jubien, Peggy

2013-01-01

The smartphone is a recent technological addition to post-secondary education and it has both educational and non-educational applications. This study examines the educational use of smartphones using principles from actor-network theory (ANT). The purpose of the investigation was to learn about the multiple entanglements of students, teachers and…

[Acceptance of medical apps and e‑books among German radiologists].

PubMed

Schleder, S; Dendl, L M; Niessen, C; Stroszczynski, C; Schreyer, A G

2017-09-01

Smartphones, tablet PCs, mobile applications (apps) and electronic book files (e-books) affect our lives in private and job-related settings. The aim of this study was to analyze the behavior of radiologists on smartphones, tablet PCs and e‑books and to investigate its effect on their daily work. An online survey containing of 23 questions was conducted using Survey Monkey© ( www.surveymonkey.com ). The invitation to the survey was done using the newsletter of the German Radiological Society (DRG). The acquired data was automatically stored by the software and then analyzed using descriptive statistics. In total, 104 radiologists (29% female) participated in the online survey. Of these, 93% and 96.5% owned a smartphone or a tablet PC, respectively, and 72% and 67% used medical apps and e‑books, respectively. Through their use, 31% found moderate and 41% found enormous improvement in their daily work. A majority of participating radiologists would be willing to pay an increased user fee for optimized apps or e‑books. With currently only moderate individual benefit of mobile medical apps and e‑books, there is a widespread need for optimally configured apps and e‑books with a correspondingly high market potential. (1) Radiologists use smartphones (93%) or tablet PCs (96.5%); (2) 72% of radiologists use a smartphone or tablet PC for medical material; (3) 53% of radiologists report significant assistance from or a high value of the mobile medical applications used; (4) There is a willingness to pay a license fee for optimized mobile applications or e‑books.

Internet and smartphone application usage in eating disorders: A descriptive study in Singapore.

PubMed

Tan, Tina; Kuek, Angeline; Goh, Shih Ee; Lee, Ee Lian; Kwok, Victor

2016-02-01

Eating disorders are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The Internet is a popular medium for individuals with eating disorders to discuss and reinforce their affliction. However, the available literature on Internet usage and eating disorders is scarce, especially in the area of social media and smartphone application ("app") usage. This study looked at the Internet and smartphone app usage patterns of participants who presented with an eating disorder in Singapore, and whether it corresponded to severity of illness. Individuals who presented to the Eating Disorders clinic at the Singapore General Hospital completed a self-reported questionnaire on Internet and app usage. They also completed the EDE-Q, EAT-26 and CIA 3.0. 55 participants completed the study. 41.8% had anorexia nervosa, 34.5% had bulimia nervosa, and 9.1% were ED-NOS. 41.8% felt that apps helped to perpetuate their illness while 32.7% felt that the apps were helpful for recovery. Overall, any smartphone application usage was associated with younger age and greater eating disorder psychopathology and psychosocial impairment. While 30.9% had encountered eating disorder-related content on Facebook, only 12.7% visited Facebook groups related to eating disorders. For YouTube, "Cooking and Food" and "Beauty and Fashion" videos were among the top 3 types of videos that participants watched. In conclusion, Internet and smartphone app usage is significant, and they are associated with greater severity of illness. It is necessary to include interventions in this aspect as part of treatment of eating disorders. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

How Turkish radiology residents access information related to their profession in this social media and smartphone era.

PubMed

Ozutemiz, Can; Dicle, Oguz; Koremezli, Nevin

2015-01-01

To evaluate the frequency of mobile technology and social media usage among radiology residents and their access to professional information. A questionnaire consisting of 24 questions prepared using Google Drive was sent via e-mail to 550 radiology residents throughout the country. Of the 176 participating residents, 74 completed the survey via the internet, and 102 completed it at three different national radiology meetings. Response rates and its relationship with responses given to different questions were assessed. Hundred two male and 74 female residents participated in the survey. 141 (81.3%) residents thought that they had appropriate internet access in their department. The number of residents using a smartphone was 153 (86.9%). The android operating system (70, 45.8%) was the preferred operating system of respondants. Only 24 (15.7%) of the smartphone users thought that there were enough radiology related applications. "Radiology assistant" (18.9%), "Radiopedia" (7.8%) and "Radiographics" (7.8%) were the most utilized applications. Of the smartphone users, 87(56.9%) stated that they used cell phones in order to find radiological information, and the most used web pages were Google (165, 93.8%), Radiopaedia.org (129, 73.3%), Radiologyassistant.nl (135, 76.7%), and Pubmed (114, 64.8%). Social media usages were as follows: None (10, 5.7%), Facebook (139, 79%), Twitter (55, 31.3%), Google + (51, 29%) and YouTube (44, 25%). While smartphone usage rates among the residents were high, the use of radiology specific applications was not common. Social media usage was very common among residents.

Thermal imaging as a smartphone application: exploring and implementing a new concept

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yanai, Omer

2014-06-01

Today's world is going mobile. Smartphone devices have become an important part of everyday life for billions of people around the globe. Thermal imaging cameras have been around for half a century and are now making their way into our daily lives. Originally built for military applications, thermal cameras are starting to be considered for personal use, enabling enhanced vision and temperature mapping for different groups of professional individuals. Through a revolutionary concept that turns smartphones into fully functional thermal cameras, we have explored how these two worlds can converge by utilizing the best of each technology. We will present the thought process, design considerations and outcome of our development process, resulting in a low-power, high resolution, lightweight USB thermal imaging device that turns Android smartphones into thermal cameras. We will discuss the technological challenges that we faced during the development of the product, and what are the system design decisions taken during the implementation. We will provide some insights we came across during this development process. Finally, we will discuss the opportunities that this innovative technology brings to the market.

The smartphone brain scanner: a portable real-time neuroimaging system.

PubMed

Stopczynski, Arkadiusz; Stahlhut, Carsten; Larsen, Jakob Eg; Petersen, Michael Kai; Hansen, Lars Kai

2014-01-01

Combining low-cost wireless EEG sensors with smartphones offers novel opportunities for mobile brain imaging in an everyday context. Here we present the technical details and validation of a framework for building multi-platform, portable EEG applications with real-time 3D source reconstruction. The system--Smartphone Brain Scanner--combines an off-the-shelf neuroheadset or EEG cap with a smartphone or tablet, and as such represents the first fully portable system for real-time 3D EEG imaging. We discuss the benefits and challenges, including technical limitations as well as details of real-time reconstruction of 3D images of brain activity. We present examples of brain activity captured in a simple experiment involving imagined finger tapping, which shows that the acquired signal in a relevant brain region is similar to that obtained with standard EEG lab equipment. Although the quality of the signal in a mobile solution using an off-the-shelf consumer neuroheadset is lower than the signal obtained using high-density standard EEG equipment, we propose mobile application development may offset the disadvantages and provide completely new opportunities for neuroimaging in natural settings.

Evaluation of a smartphone human activity recognition application with able-bodied and stroke participants.

PubMed

Capela, N A; Lemaire, E D; Baddour, N; Rudolf, M; Goljar, N; Burger, H

2016-01-20

Mobile health monitoring using wearable sensors is a growing area of interest. As the world's population ages and locomotor capabilities decrease, the ability to report on a person's mobility activities outside a hospital setting becomes a valuable tool for clinical decision-making and evaluating healthcare interventions. Smartphones are omnipresent in society and offer convenient and suitable sensors for mobility monitoring applications. To enhance our understanding of human activity recognition (HAR) system performance for able-bodied and populations with gait deviations, this research evaluated a custom smartphone-based HAR classifier on fifteen able-bodied participants and fifteen participants who suffered a stroke. Participants performed a consecutive series of mobility tasks and daily living activities while wearing a BlackBerry Z10 smartphone on their waist to collect accelerometer and gyroscope data. Five features were derived from the sensor data and used to classify participant activities (decision tree). Sensitivity, specificity and F-scores were calculated to evaluate HAR classifier performance. The classifier performed well for both populations when differentiating mobile from immobile states (F-score > 94 %). As activity recognition complexity increased, HAR system sensitivity and specificity decreased for the stroke population, particularly when using information derived from participant posture to make classification decisions. Human activity recognition using a smartphone based system can be accomplished for both able-bodied and stroke populations; however, an increase in activity classification complexity leads to a decrease in HAR performance with a stroke population. The study results can be used to guide smartphone HAR system development for populations with differing movement characteristics.

Desired features of smartphone applications promoting physical activity.

PubMed

Rabin, Carolyn; Bock, Beth

2011-12-01

Approximately one-third of adults in the United States are physically inactive. This is a significant public health concern as physical activity (PA) can influence the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and certain forms of cancer. To minimize these health risks, effective PA interventions must be developed and disseminated to the vast number of individuals who remain sedentary. Smartphone technology presents an exciting opportunity for delivering PA interventions remotely. Although a number of PA applications are currently available for smartphones, these "apps" are not based on established theories of health behavior change and most do not include evidence-based features (e.g., reinforcement and goal setting). Our aim was to collect formative data to develop a smartphone PA app that is empirically and theoretically-based and incorporates user preferences. We recruited 15 sedentary adults to test three currently available PA smartphone apps and provide qualitative and quantitative feedback. Findings indicate that users have a number of specific preferences with regard to PA app features, including that apps provide automatic tracking of PA (e.g., steps taken and calories burned), track progress toward PA goals, and integrate a music feature. Participants also preferred that PA apps be flexible enough to be used with several types of PA, and have well-documented features and user-friendly interfaces (e.g., a one-click main page). When queried by the researcher, most participants endorsed including goal-setting and problem-solving features. These findings provide a blue print for developing a smartphone PA app that incorporates evidence-based components and user preferences.

Feasibility of a smartphone application based action plan and monitoring in asthma.

PubMed

Kim, Mi-Yeong; Lee, Suh-Young; Jo, Eun-Jung; Lee, Seung-Eun; Kang, Min-Gyu; Song, Woo-Jung; Kim, Sae-Hoon; Cho, Sang-Heon; Min, Kyung-Up; Ahn, Ki-Hwan; Chang, Yoon-Seok

2016-07-01

Asthma patients may experience acute episodic exacerbation. The guidelines recommend that written action plan should be given to asthma patients. However, no one can predict when and where acute exacerbation will happen. As people carry smart phone almost anytime and anywhere, smartphone application could be a useful tool in asthma care. We evaluated the feasibility of the ubiquitous healthcare system of asthma care using a smartphone application (snuCare) based on the self-management guideline or action plan. Forty-four patients including fragile asthmatics were enrolled from Seoul National University Bundang Hospital between December 2011 and February 2012. They were randomly assigned into application user (n = 22) or application nonuser group (n = 22). We evaluated user-satisfaction, and clinical parameters such as asthma control, Quality of Life Questionnaire for Adult Korean Asthmatics, and the adherence of patients. The characteristics were similar at baseline between the 2 groups except those who treated with short-term systemic steroid or increased dose of systemic steroid during previous 8 weeks (user vs. nonuser: 31.8% vs. 4.5%, p = 0.020). Total of 2,226 signals was generated during 8 weeks including 5 risky states. After eight weeks, the users answered that it was very easy to use the application, which was shown in highest scores in terms of satisfaction (mean ± standard deviation, 4.3 ± 0.56). Seventy-three percent of patients answered that the application was very useful for asthma care. User group showed improved the adherence scores (p = 0.017). One patient in application user group could avoid Emergency Department visit owing to the application while a patient in nonuser group visited Emergency Department. The ubiquitous healthcare system using a smartphone application (snuCare) based on the self-management guideline or action plan could be helpful in the monitoring and the management of asthma.

I Am Your Smartphone, and I Know You Are About to Smoke: The Application of Mobile Sensing and Computing Approaches to Smoking Research and Treatment

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Much is known about the immediate and predictive antecedents of smoking lapse, which include situations (e.g., presence of other smokers), activities (e.g., alcohol consumption), and contexts (e.g., outside). This commentary suggests smartphone-based systems could be used to infer these predictive antecedents in real time and provide the smoker with just-in-time intervention. The smartphone of today is equipped with an array of sensors, including GPS, cameras, light sensors, barometers, accelerometers, and so forth, that provide information regarding physical location, human movement, ambient sounds, and visual imagery. We propose that libraries of algorithms to infer these antecedents can be developed and then incorporated into diverse mobile research and personalized treatment applications. While a number of challenges to the development and implementation of such applications are recognized, our field benefits from a database of known antecedents to a problem behavior, and further research and development in this exciting area are warranted. PMID:23703731

Efficacy of communication amongst staff members at plastic and reconstructive surgery section using smartphone and mobile WhatsApp

PubMed Central

Wani, Shabeer Ahmad; Rabah, Sari M.; AlFadil, Sara; Dewanjee, Nancy; Najmi, Yahya

2013-01-01

Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy of smartphone and its WhatsApp application as a communication method amongst the staff of plastic and reconstructive surgery section at tertiary care health facility. Materials and Methods: From January 2012 onwards, the authors used smartphones and its WhatsApp application as a communication method amongst their team for various aspects of patient management and as a tool for academic endorsements. Results: During the period of this study, there were 116 episodes regarding patient management, which were handled, in a timely fashion by using this application. In addition opinion of rotating residents in the section was sought regarding the efficacy of this method of communication. Overall majority of residents were satisfied with this mode of communication. Conclusions: This new method of communication is an effective method for clinical and academic endorsements. The method is cheap and quick and easy to operate. PMID:24459338

TOKEN: Trustable Keystroke-Based Authentication for Web-Based Applications on Smartphones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nauman, Mohammad; Ali, Tamleek

Smartphones are increasingly being used to store personal information as well as to access sensitive data from the Internet and the cloud. Establishment of the identity of a user requesting information from smartphones is a prerequisite for secure systems in such scenarios. In the past, keystroke-based user identification has been successfully deployed on production-level mobile devices to mitigate the risks associated with naïve username/password based authentication. However, these approaches have two major limitations: they are not applicable to services where authentication occurs outside the domain of the mobile device - such as web-based services; and they often overly tax the limited computational capabilities of mobile devices. In this paper, we propose a protocol for keystroke dynamics analysis which allows web-based applications to make use of remote attestation and delegated keystroke analysis. The end result is an efficient keystroke-based user identification mechanism that strengthens traditional password protected services while mitigating the risks of user profiling by collaborating malicious web services.

I am your smartphone, and I know you are about to smoke: the application of mobile sensing and computing approaches to smoking research and treatment.

PubMed

McClernon, F Joseph; Roy Choudhury, Romit

2013-10-01

Much is known about the immediate and predictive antecedents of smoking lapse, which include situations (e.g., presence of other smokers), activities (e.g., alcohol consumption), and contexts (e.g., outside). This commentary suggests smartphone-based systems could be used to infer these predictive antecedents in real time and provide the smoker with just-in-time intervention. The smartphone of today is equipped with an array of sensors, including GPS, cameras, light sensors, barometers, accelerometers, and so forth, that provide information regarding physical location, human movement, ambient sounds, and visual imagery. We propose that libraries of algorithms to infer these antecedents can be developed and then incorporated into diverse mobile research and personalized treatment applications. While a number of challenges to the development and implementation of such applications are recognized, our field benefits from a database of known antecedents to a problem behavior, and further research and development in this exciting area are warranted.

Review of researches on smartphone applications for physical activity promotion in healthy adults

PubMed Central

Jee, Haemi

2017-01-01

Physical activity is known as a preventative method for preventing life-style-related diseases. Smartphone applications for health and fitness intervention have released with rapid increase of innovative technology. Reviews of recent publications on mobile application have been conducted to observe feasibility and applicability for physical activity intervention. Bibliographic searches of PubMed and ScienceDirect were conducted with key terms, ‘physical activity,’ ‘fitness,’ ‘smart-phone,’ and ‘health’ between the years 2014 and 2017 to obtain 5,087 publications. Out of 5,087 articles, five articles on sensor-based applications and five articles on user entry-based applications were obtained through the inclusion and exclusion processes. Accuracy of the physical activity assessments were reported to be high in comparison to the conventional assessment tools. The overall subject rating on the app motivational ratings were positive with high correlation between physical activity and treats and cues. The adherence rates to the apps significantly dropped prior to 3 months. Publications that elucidate feasibility and accuracy of smartphone applications that motivates physical activity seem limited with adequately conducted study designs. Large-scaled, control-compared, long-term randomized control trials should be conducted to elucidate the effects of the app interventions. PMID:28349027

Realizing the Potential of Mobile Mental Health: New Methods for New Data in Psychiatry

PubMed Central

Staples, Patrick; Onnela, Jukka-Pekka

2015-01-01

Smartphones are now ubiquitous and can be harnessed to offer psychiatry a wealth of real-time data regarding patient behavior, self-reported symptoms, and even physiology. The data collected from smartphones meet the three criteria of big data: velocity, volume, and variety. Although these data have tremendous potential, transforming them into clinically valid and useful information requires using new tools and methods as a part of assessment in psychiatry. In this paper, we introduce and explore numerous analytical methods and tools from the computational and statistical sciences that appear readily applicable to psychiatric data collected using smartphones. By matching smartphone data with appropriate statistical methods, psychiatry can better realize the potential of mobile mental health and empower both patients and providers with novel clinical tools. PMID:26073363

Accuracy and precision of smartphone applications and commercially available motion sensors in multiple sclerosis

PubMed Central

Balto, Julia M; Kinnett-Hopkins, Dominique L

2016-01-01

Background There is increased interest in the application of smartphone applications and wearable motion sensors among multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Objective This study examined the accuracy and precision of common smartphone applications and motion sensors for measuring steps taken by MS patients while walking on a treadmill. Methods Forty-five MS patients (Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) = 1.0–5.0) underwent two 500-step walking trials at comfortable walking speed on a treadmill. Participants wore five motion sensors: the Digi-Walker SW-200 pedometer (Yamax), the UP2 and UP Move (Jawbone), and the Flex and One (Fitbit). The smartphone applications were Health (Apple), Health Mate (Withings), and Moves (ProtoGeo Oy). Results The Fitbit One had the best absolute (mean = 490.6 steps, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 485.6–495.5 steps) and relative accuracy (1.9% error), and absolute (SD = 16.4) and relative precision (coefficient of variation (CV) = 0.0), for the first 500-step walking trial; this was repeated with the second trial. Relative accuracy was correlated with slower walking speed for the first (rs = −.53) and second (rs = −.53) trials. Conclusion The results suggest that the waist-worn Fitbit One is the most precise and accurate sensor for measuring steps when walking on a treadmill, but future research is needed (testing the device across a broader range of disability, at different speeds, and in real-life walking conditions) before inclusion in clinical research and practice with MS patients. PMID:28607720

Accuracy and precision of smartphone applications and commercially available motion sensors in multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Balto, Julia M; Kinnett-Hopkins, Dominique L; Motl, Robert W

2016-01-01

There is increased interest in the application of smartphone applications and wearable motion sensors among multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. This study examined the accuracy and precision of common smartphone applications and motion sensors for measuring steps taken by MS patients while walking on a treadmill. Forty-five MS patients (Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) = 1.0-5.0) underwent two 500-step walking trials at comfortable walking speed on a treadmill. Participants wore five motion sensors: the Digi-Walker SW-200 pedometer (Yamax), the UP2 and UP Move (Jawbone), and the Flex and One (Fitbit). The smartphone applications were Health (Apple), Health Mate (Withings), and Moves (ProtoGeo Oy). The Fitbit One had the best absolute (mean = 490.6 steps, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 485.6-495.5 steps) and relative accuracy (1.9% error), and absolute (SD = 16.4) and relative precision (coefficient of variation (CV) = 0.0), for the first 500-step walking trial; this was repeated with the second trial. Relative accuracy was correlated with slower walking speed for the first ( r s  =  -.53) and second ( r s  =  -.53) trials. The results suggest that the waist-worn Fitbit One is the most precise and accurate sensor for measuring steps when walking on a treadmill, but future research is needed (testing the device across a broader range of disability, at different speeds, and in real-life walking conditions) before inclusion in clinical research and practice with MS patients.

Pregnancy eHealth and mHealth: user proportions and characteristics of pregnant women using Web-based information sources-a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Wallwiener, Stephanie; Müller, Mitho; Doster, Anne; Laserer, Wolfgang; Reck, Corinna; Pauluschke-Fröhlich, Jan; Brucker, Sara Y; Wallwiener, Christian W; Wallwiener, Markus

2016-11-01

To analyze the current proportions and characteristics of women using Internet (eHealth) and smartphone (mHealth) based sources of information during pregnancy and to investigate the influence, this information-seeking behavior has on decision-making. A cross-sectional study was conducted at two major German university hospitals. Questionnaires covering socio-demographic data, medical data and details of Internet, and smartphone application use were administered to 220 pregnant women. Data analysis utilized descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. 50.7 % of pregnant women were online information seekers. 22.4 % used an mHealth pregnancy application. Women using eHealth information showed no specific profile, while women using mHealth applications proved to be younger, were more likely to be in their first pregnancy, felt less healthy, and were more likely to be influenced by the retrieved information. Stepwise backward regression analysis explained 25.8 % of the variance of mHealth use. 80.5 % of cases were classified correctly by the identified predictors. All types of Web-based information correlated significantly with decision-making during pregnancy. Pregnant women frequently use the Internet and smartphone applications as a source of information. While Web usage was a common phenomenon, this study revealed specific characteristics of mHealth users during pregnancy. Improved, medically accurate smartphone applications might provide a way to specifically target the mHealth user group. As user influenceability was of major relevance to all types of information, all medical content should be carefully reviewed by a multidisciplinary board of medical specialists.

A 3D printed smartphone optosensing platform for point-of-need food safety inspection.

PubMed

Liu, Zhonggang; Zhang, Yali; Xu, Shujia; Zhang, Heng; Tan, Yixun; Ma, Chenming; Song, Rong; Jiang, Lelun; Yi, Changqing

2017-05-08

The deficiency in rapid and in-field detection methods and portable devices that are reliable, easy-to-use, and low cost, results in the difficulties to uphold the high safety standards in China. In this study, we introduce a rapid and cost-effective smartphone-based method for point-of-need food safety inspection, which employs aptamer-conjugated AuNPs as the colorimetric indicator, and a battery-powered optosensing accessory attached to the camera of a smartphone for transmission images capture. A user-friendly and easy-to-use Android application is developed for automatic digital image processing and result reporting. Streptomycin (STR) is selected as the proof-of-concept target, and its specific quantitation can be realized with a LOD of 12.3 nM (8.97 μg kg -1 ) using the reported smartphone-based method. The quantitation of STR in honey, milk and tap water confirm the reliability and applicability of the reported method. The extremely high acceptance of smartphone in remote and metropolitan areas of China and ease-of-use of the reported method facilitate active food contaminant and toxicant screening, thus making the implementation of the whole food supply chain monitoring and surveillance possible and hence significantly improving the current Chinese food safety control system. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multi-hybrid instrumentations with smartphones and smartpads for innovative in-field and POC diagnostics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hofmann, Dietrich; Dittrich, Paul-Gerald; Gärtner, Claudia; Klemm, Richard

2013-03-01

Aim of the paper is the orientation of research and development on a completely new approach to innovative in-field and point of care diagnostics in industry, biology and medicine. Central functional modules are smartphones and/or smart pads supplemented by additional hardware apps and software apps. Specific examples are given for numerous practical applications concerning optodigital instrumentations. The methodical classification distinguishes between different levels for combination of hardware apps (hwapps) and software apps (swapps) with smartphones and/or smartpads. These methods are fundamental enablers for the transformation from stationary conventional laboratory diagnostics into mobile innovative in-field and point of care diagnostics. The innovative approach opens so far untapped enormous markets due to the convenience, reliability and affordability of smartphone and/or smartpad instruments. A highly visible advantage of smartphones and/or smartpads is the huge number of their distribution, their worldwide connectivity via cloud services and the experienced capability of their users for practical operations.

How can Smartphone-Based Internet Data Support Animal Ecology Fieldtrip?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurniawan, I. S.; Tapilow, F. S.; Hidayat, T.

2017-09-01

Identification and classification skills must be owned by the students. In animal ecology course, the identification and classification skills are necessary to study animals. This experimental study aims to describe the identification and classification skills of students on animal ecology field trip to studying various bird species using smartphone-based internet data. Using Involving 63 students divided into 7 groups for each observation station. Data of birds were sampled using line transect method (5000 meters/station). The results showed the identification and classification skills of students are in sufficient categories. Most students have difficulties because of the limitations of data on the internet about birds. In general, students support the use of smartphones in field trip activities. The results of this study can be used as a reference for the development of learning using smartphones in the future by developing application about birds. The outline, smartphones can be used as a method of alternative learning but needs to be developed for some special purposes.

Design and Smartphone-Based Implementation of a Chaotic Video Communication Scheme via WAN Remote Transmission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Zhuosheng; Yu, Simin; Li, Chengqing; Lü, Jinhu; Wang, Qianxue

This paper proposes a chaotic secure video remote communication scheme that can perform on real WAN networks, and implements it on a smartphone hardware platform. First, a joint encryption and compression scheme is designed by embedding a chaotic encryption scheme into the MJPG-Streamer source codes. Then, multiuser smartphone communications between the sender and the receiver are implemented via WAN remote transmission. Finally, the transmitted video data are received with the given IP address and port in an Android smartphone. It should be noted that, this is the first time that chaotic video encryption schemes are implemented on such a hardware platform. The experimental results demonstrate that the technical challenges on hardware implementation of secure video communication are successfully solved, reaching a balance amongst sufficient security level, real-time processing of massive video data, and utilization of available resources in the hardware environment. The proposed scheme can serve as a good application example of chaotic secure communications for smartphone and other mobile facilities in the future.

Performance improvement of the one-dot lateral flow immunoassay for aflatoxin B1 by using a smartphone-based reading system.

PubMed

Lee, Sangdae; Kim, Giyoung; Moon, Jihea

2013-04-18

This study was conducted to develop a simple, rapid, and accurate lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) detection method for point-of-care diagnosis. The one-dot LFIA for aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) was based on the modified competitive binding format using competition between AFB1 and colloidal gold-AFB1-BSA conjugate for antibody binding sites in the test zone. A Smartphone-based reading system consisting of a Samsung Galaxy S2 Smartphone, a LFIA reader, and a Smartphone application for the image acquisition and data analysis. The detection limit of one-dot LFIA for AFB1 is 5 μg/kg. This method provided semi-quantitative analysis of AFB1 samples in the range of 5 to 1,000 μg/kg. Using combination of the one-dot LFIA and the Smartphone-based reading system, it is possible to conduct a more fast and accurate point-of-care diagnosis.

Teaching classical mechanics using smartphones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chevrier, Joel; Madani, Laya; Ledenmat, Simon; Bsiesy, Ahmad

2013-09-01

A number of articles published in this column have dealt with topics in classical mechanics. This note describes some additional examples employing a smartphone and the new software iMecaProf.4 Steve Jobs presented the iPhone as "perfect for gaming."5 Thanks to its microsensors connected in real time to the numerical world, physics teachers could add that smartphones are "perfect for teaching science." The software iMecaProf displays in real time the measured data on a screen. The visual representation is built upon the formalism of classical mechanics. iMecaProf receives data 100 times a second from iPhone sensors through a Wi-Fi connection using the application Sensor Data.6 Data are the three components of the acceleration vector in the smartphone frame and smartphone's orientation through three angles (yaw, pitch, and roll). For circular motion (uniform or not), iMecaProf uses independent measurements of the rotation angle θ, the angular speed dθ/dt, and the angular acceleration d2θ/dt2.

Performance Improvement of the One-Dot Lateral Flow Immunoassay for Aflatoxin B1 by Using a Smartphone-Based Reading System

PubMed Central

Lee, Sangdae; Kim, Giyoung; Moon, Jihea

2013-01-01

This study was conducted to develop a simple, rapid, and accurate lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) detection method for point-of-care diagnosis. The one-dot LFIA for aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) was based on the modified competitive binding format using competition between AFB1 and colloidal gold-AFB1-BSA conjugate for antibody binding sites in the test zone. A Smartphone-based reading system consisting of a Samsung Galaxy S2 Smartphone, a LFIA reader, and a Smartphone application for the image acquisition and data analysis. The detection limit of one-dot LFIA for AFB1 is 5 μg/kg. This method provided semi-quantitative analysis of AFB1 samples in the range of 5 to 1,000 μg/kg. Using combination of the one-dot LFIA and the Smartphone-based reading system, it is possible to conduct a more fast and accurate point-of-care diagnosis. PMID:23598499

WADeG Cell Phone

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

2009-09-01

The on cell phone software captures the images from the CMOS camera periodically, stores the pictures, and periodically transmits those images over the cellular network to the server. The cell phone software consists of several modules: CamTest.cpp, CamStarter.cpp, StreamIOHandler .cpp, and covertSmartDevice.cpp. The camera application on the SmartPhone is CamStarter, which is "the" user interface for the camera system. The CamStarter user interface allows a user to start/stop the camera application and transfer files to the server. The CamStarter application interfaces to the CamTest application through registry settings. Both the CamStarter and CamTest applications must be separately deployed on themore » smartphone to run the camera system application. When a user selects the Start button in CamStarter, CamTest is created as a process. The smartphone begins taking small pictures (CAPTURE mode), analyzing those pictures for certain conditions, and saving those pictures on the smartphone. This process will terminate when the user selects the Stop button. The camtest code spins off an asynchronous thread, StreamIOHandler, to check for pictures taken by the camera. The received image is then tested by StreamIOHandler to see if it meets certain conditions. If those conditions are met, the CamTest program is notified through the setting of a registry key value and the image is saved in a designated directory in a custom BMP file which includes a header and the image data. When the user selects the Transfer button in the CamStarter user interface, the covertsmartdevice code is created as a process. Covertsmartdevice gets all of the files in a designated directory, opens a socket connection to the server, sends each file, and then terminates.« less

A smartphone application for psoriasis segmentation and classification (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vasefi, Fartash; MacKinnon, Nicholas B.; Horita, Timothy; Shi, Kevin; Khan Munia, Tamanna Tabassum; Tavakolian, Kouhyar; Alhashim, Minhal; Fazel-Rezai, Reza

2017-02-01

Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease affecting approximately 125 million people worldwide. Currently, dermatologists monitor changes of psoriasis by clinical evaluation or by measuring psoriasis severity scores over time which lead to Subjective management of this condition. The goal of this paper is to develop a reliable assessment system to quantitatively assess the changes of erythema and intensity of scaling of psoriatic lesions. A smartphone deployable mobile application is presented that uses the smartphone camera and cloud-based image processing to analyze physiological characteristics of psoriasis lesions, identify the type and stage of the scaling and erythema. The application targets to automatically evaluate Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) by measuring the severity and extent of psoriasis. The mobile application performs the following core functions: 1) it captures text information from user input to create a profile in a HIPAA compliant database. 2) It captures an image of the skin with psoriasis as well as image-related information entered by the user. 3) The application color correct the image based on environmental lighting condition using calibration process including calibration procedure by capturing Macbeth ColorChecker image. 4) The color-corrected image will be transmitted to a cloud-based engine for image processing. In cloud, first, the algorithm removes the non-skin background to ensure the psoriasis segmentation is only applied to the skin regions. Then, the psoriasis segmentation algorithm estimates the erythema and scaling boundary regions of lesion. We analyzed 10 images of psoriasis images captured by cellphone, determined PASI score for each subject during our pilot study, and correlated it with changes in severity scores given by dermatologists. The success of this work allows smartphone application for psoriasis severity assessment in a long-term treatment.

Smartphones and health promotion: a review of the evidence.

PubMed

Bert, Fabrizio; Giacometti, Marika; Gualano, Maria Rosaria; Siliquini, Roberta

2014-01-01

Communication via mobile phones has become an essential tool for health professionals. The latest generation of smartphones is comparable to computers, allowing the development of new applications in health field. This paper aims to describe the use of smartphones by health professionals and patients in the field of health promotion. We conducted a bibliographic search through Pubmed. Then, research results were analyzed critically in order to select the best experiences available. All searches were carried out on November 2012 and were not limited by date. Each item from the initial search was reviewed independently by members of the project team. Initial search returned 472 items with PubMed. After the removal of duplicates, 406 items were reviewed by all the members of the project team and 21 articles were identified as specifically centered on health promotion. In the nutrition field there are applications that allow to count calories and keep a food diary or more specific platforms for people with food allergies, while about physical activity many applications suggest exercises with measurement of sports statistics. Some applications deal with lifestyles suggestions and tips. Finally, some positive experiences are reported in the prevention of falls in elderly and of sexually-transmitted diseases. Smartphones are transforming the ways of communication but the lack of monitoring of contents, the digital divide, the confidentiality of data, the exclusion of the health professional from the management of patient, are the main risks related to their use.

A job for quantum dots: use of a smartphone and 3D-printed accessory for all-in-one excitation and imaging of photoluminescence.

PubMed

Petryayeva, Eleonora; Algar, W Russ

2016-04-01

Point-of-care (POC) diagnostic technologies are needed to improve global health and smartphones are a prospective platform for these technologies. While many fluorescence or photoluminescence-based smartphone assays have been reported in the literature, common shortcomings are the requirement of an excitation light source external to the smartphone and complicated integration of that excitation source with the smartphone. Here, we show that the photographic flash associated with the smartphone camera can be utilized to enable all-in-one excitation and imaging of photoluminescence (PL), thus eliminating the need for an excitation light source external to the smartphone. A simple and low-cost 3D-printed accessory was designed to create a dark environment and direct excitation light from the smartphone flash onto a sample. Multiple colors and compositions of semiconductor quantum dot (QD) were evaluated as photoluminescent materials for all-in-one smartphone excitation and imaging of PL, and these were compared with fluorescein and R-phycoerythrin (R-PE), which are widely utilized molecular and protein materials for fluorescence-based bioanalysis. The QDs were found to exhibit much better brightness and have the best potential for two-color detection. A model protein binding assay with a sub-microgram per milliliter detection limit and a Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) assay for proteolytic activity were demonstrated, including imaging with serum as a sample matrix. In addition, FRET within tandem conjugates of a QD donor and fluorescent dye acceptor enabled smartphone detection of dye fluorescence that was otherwise unobservable without the QD to enhance its brightness. The ideal properties of photoluminescent materials for all-in-one smartphone excitation and imaging are discussed in the context of several different materials, where QDs appear to be the best overall material for this application.

"Talking Tools": Sloyd Processes Become Multimodal Stories with Smartphone Documentation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiklund-Engblom, Annika; Hiltunen, Kasper; Hartvik, Juha; Porko-Hudd, Mia; Johansson, Marléne

2014-01-01

The study presented is part of a work-in-progress project of developing a mobile application for smartphones, Talking Tools (TT). The first context TT is developed for and tested in is sloyd education [Swedish: slöjd], a compulsory subject taught in Finnish schools. In sloyd learners design and manufacture unique artifacts in various materials…

Smartphone Apps on the Mobile Web: An Exploratory Case Study of Business Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ford, Caroline Morgan

2012-01-01

The purpose of this research is to explore the business strategies of a firm seeking to develop and profitably market a mobile smartphone application to understand how small, digital entrepreneurships may build sustainable business models given substantial market barriers. Through a detailed examination of one firm's process to try to…

Students as Toolmakers: Refining the Results in the Accuracy and Precision of a Trigonometric Activity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Igoe, D. P.; Parisi, A. V.; Wagner, S.

2017-01-01

Smartphones used as tools provide opportunities for the teaching of the concepts of accuracy and precision and the mathematical concept of arctan. The accuracy and precision of a trigonometric experiment using entirely mechanical tools is compared to one using electronic tools, such as a smartphone clinometer application and a laser pointer. This…

Smartphones as Tools for Delivering Sun-Smart Education to Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Igoe, Damien; Parisi, Alfio; Carter, Brad

2013-01-01

Smartphones are used widely by the general public and students. They are one of the most popular and easily accessible technologies. These devices were originally designed as a means of communication. However, they have evolved into a mobile computing platform with built in sensors and the ability to access a vast number of applications. This…

The Study of Two-Dimensional Oscillations Using a Smartphone Acceleration Sensor: Example of Lissajous Curves

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tuset-Sanchis, Luis; Castro-Palacio, Juan C.; Gómez-Tejedor, José A.; Manjón, Francisco J.; Monsoriu, Juan A.

2015-01-01

A smartphone acceleration sensor is used to study two-dimensional harmonic oscillations. The data recorded by the free android application, Accelerometer Toy, is used to determine the periods of oscillation by graphical analysis. Different patterns of the Lissajous curves resulting from the superposition of harmonic motions are illustrated for…

Not Just Dialling It in:Examining Cognitive-Based Approaches in Enterprise Education Using a Smartphone Application

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vorley, Tim; Williams, Nick

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of smartphone apps in fostering effectual thinking. The paper considers both the effectual development of entrepreneurial ideas and the associated change in entrepreneurial confidence and perceived entrepreneurial skills of students at a UK Higher Education Institution.…

Smartphone and medical related App use among medical students and junior doctors in the United Kingdom (UK): a regional survey.

PubMed

Payne, Karl Frederick Braekkan; Wharrad, Heather; Watts, Kim

2012-10-30

Smartphone usage has spread to many settings including that of healthcare with numerous potential and realised benefits. The ability to download custom-built software applications (apps) has created a new wealth of clinical resources available to healthcare staff, providing evidence-based decisional tools to reduce medical errors.Previous literature has examined how smartphones can be utilised by both medical student and doctor populations, to enhance educational and workplace activities, with the potential to improve overall patient care. However, this literature has not examined smartphone acceptance and patterns of medical app usage within the student and junior doctor populations. An online survey of medical student and foundation level junior doctor cohorts was undertaken within one United Kingdom healthcare region. Participants were asked whether they owned a Smartphone and if they used apps on their Smartphones to support their education and practice activities. Frequency of use and type of app used was also investigated. Open response questions explored participants' views on apps that were desired or recommended and the characteristics of apps that were useful. 257 medical students and 131 junior doctors responded, equating to a response rate of 15.0% and 21.8% respectively. 79.0% (n=203/257) of medical students and 74.8% (n=98/131) of junior doctors owned a smartphone, with 56.6% (n=115/203) of students and 68.4% (n=67/98) of doctors owning an iPhone.The majority of students and doctors owned 1-5 medical related applications, with very few owning more than 10, and iPhone owners significantly more likely to own apps (Chi sq, p<0.001). Both populations showed similar trends of app usage of several times a day. Over 24 hours apps were used for between 1-30 minutes for students and 1-20 minutes for doctors, students used disease diagnosis/management and drug reference apps, with doctors favouring clinical score/calculator apps. This study found a high level of smartphone ownership and usage among medical students and junior doctors. Both groups endorse the development of more apps to support their education and clinical practice.

Smartphone and Universal Goniometer for Measurement of Elbow Joint Motions: A Comparative Study

PubMed Central

Behnoush, Behnam; Tavakoli, Nasim; Bazmi, Elham; Nateghi Fard, Fariborz; Pourgharib Shahi, Mohammad Hossein; Okazi, Arash; Mokhtari, Tahmineh

2016-01-01

Background Universal goniometer (UG) is commonly used as a standard method to evaluate range of motion (ROM) as part of joint motions. It has some restrictions, such as involvement of both hands of the physician, leads to instability of hands and error. Nowadays smartphones usage has been increasing due to its easy application. Objectives The study was designed to compare the smartphone inclinometer-based app and UG in evaluation of ROM of elbow. Materials and Methods The maximum ROM of elbow in position of flexion and pronation and supination of forearm were examined in 60 healthy volunteers with UG and smartphone. Data were analyzed using SPSS (ver. 16) software and appropriate statistical tests were applied, such as paired t-test, ICC and Bland Altman curves. Results The results of this study showed high reliability and validity of smartphone in regarding UG with ICC > 0.95. The highest reliability for both methods was in elbow supination and the lowest was in the elbow flexion (0.84). Conclusions Smartphones due to ease of access and usage for the physician and the patient, may be good alternatives for UG. PMID:27625754

Real time heart rate variability assessment from Android smartphone camera photoplethysmography: Postural and device influences.

PubMed

Guede-Fernandez, F; Ferrer-Mileo, V; Ramos-Castro, J; Fernandez-Chimeno, M; Garcia-Gonzalez, M A

2015-01-01

The aim of this paper is to present a smartphone based system for real-time pulse-to-pulse (PP) interval time series acquisition by frame-to-frame camera image processing. The developed smartphone application acquires image frames from built-in rear-camera at the maximum available rate (30 Hz) and the smartphone GPU has been used by Renderscript API for high performance frame-by-frame image acquisition and computing in order to obtain PPG signal and PP interval time series. The relative error of mean heart rate is negligible. In addition, measurement posture and the employed smartphone model influences on the beat-to-beat error measurement of heart rate and HRV indices have been analyzed. Then, the standard deviation of the beat-to-beat error (SDE) was 7.81 ± 3.81 ms in the worst case. Furthermore, in supine measurement posture, significant device influence on the SDE has been found and the SDE is lower with Samsung S5 than Motorola X. This study can be applied to analyze the reliability of different smartphone models for HRV assessment from real-time Android camera frames processing.

Rigorous Performance Evaluation of Smartphone GNSS/IMU Sensors for ITS Applications

PubMed Central

Gikas, Vassilis; Perakis, Harris

2016-01-01

With the rapid growth in smartphone technologies and improvement in their navigation sensors, an increasing amount of location information is now available, opening the road to the provision of new Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) services. Current smartphone devices embody miniaturized Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and other sensors capable of providing user position, velocity and attitude. However, it is hard to characterize their actual positioning and navigation performance capabilities due to the disparate sensor and software technologies adopted among manufacturers and the high influence of environmental conditions, and therefore, a unified certification process is missing. This paper presents the analysis results obtained from the assessment of two modern smartphones regarding their positioning accuracy (i.e., precision and trueness) capabilities (i.e., potential and limitations) based on a practical but rigorous methodological approach. Our investigation relies on the results of several vehicle tracking (i.e., cruising and maneuvering) tests realized through comparing smartphone obtained trajectories and kinematic parameters to those derived using a high-end GNSS/IMU system and advanced filtering techniques. Performance testing is undertaken for the HTC One S (Android) and iPhone 5s (iOS). Our findings indicate that the deviation of the smartphone locations from ground truth (trueness) deteriorates by a factor of two in obscured environments compared to those derived in open sky conditions. Moreover, it appears that iPhone 5s produces relatively smaller and less dispersed error values compared to those computed for HTC One S. Also, the navigation solution of the HTC One S appears to adapt faster to changes in environmental conditions, suggesting a somewhat different data filtering approach for the iPhone 5s. Testing the accuracy of the accelerometer and gyroscope sensors for a number of maneuvering (speeding, turning, etc.,) events reveals high consistency between smartphones, whereas the small deviations from ground truth verify their high potential even for critical ITS safety applications. PMID:27527187

Rigorous Performance Evaluation of Smartphone GNSS/IMU Sensors for ITS Applications.

PubMed

Gikas, Vassilis; Perakis, Harris

2016-08-05

With the rapid growth in smartphone technologies and improvement in their navigation sensors, an increasing amount of location information is now available, opening the road to the provision of new Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) services. Current smartphone devices embody miniaturized Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and other sensors capable of providing user position, velocity and attitude. However, it is hard to characterize their actual positioning and navigation performance capabilities due to the disparate sensor and software technologies adopted among manufacturers and the high influence of environmental conditions, and therefore, a unified certification process is missing. This paper presents the analysis results obtained from the assessment of two modern smartphones regarding their positioning accuracy (i.e., precision and trueness) capabilities (i.e., potential and limitations) based on a practical but rigorous methodological approach. Our investigation relies on the results of several vehicle tracking (i.e., cruising and maneuvering) tests realized through comparing smartphone obtained trajectories and kinematic parameters to those derived using a high-end GNSS/IMU system and advanced filtering techniques. Performance testing is undertaken for the HTC One S (Android) and iPhone 5s (iOS). Our findings indicate that the deviation of the smartphone locations from ground truth (trueness) deteriorates by a factor of two in obscured environments compared to those derived in open sky conditions. Moreover, it appears that iPhone 5s produces relatively smaller and less dispersed error values compared to those computed for HTC One S. Also, the navigation solution of the HTC One S appears to adapt faster to changes in environmental conditions, suggesting a somewhat different data filtering approach for the iPhone 5s. Testing the accuracy of the accelerometer and gyroscope sensors for a number of maneuvering (speeding, turning, etc.,) events reveals high consistency between smartphones, whereas the small deviations from ground truth verify their high potential even for critical ITS safety applications.

A Grassroots Remote Sensing Toolkit Using Live Coding, Smartphones, Kites and Lightweight Drones

PubMed Central

Anderson, K.; Griffiths, D.; DeBell, L.; Hancock, S.; Duffy, J. P.; Shutler, J. D.; Reinhardt, W. J.; Griffiths, A.

2016-01-01

This manuscript describes the development of an android-based smartphone application for capturing aerial photographs and spatial metadata automatically, for use in grassroots mapping applications. The aim of the project was to exploit the plethora of on-board sensors within modern smartphones (accelerometer, GPS, compass, camera) to generate ready-to-use spatial data from lightweight aerial platforms such as drones or kites. A visual coding ‘scheme blocks’ framework was used to build the application (‘app’), so that users could customise their own data capture tools in the field. The paper reports on the coding framework, then shows the results of test flights from kites and lightweight drones and finally shows how open-source geospatial toolkits were used to generate geographical information system (GIS)-ready GeoTIFF images from the metadata stored by the app. Two Android smartphones were used in testing–a high specification OnePlus One handset and a lower cost Acer Liquid Z3 handset, to test the operational limits of the app on phones with different sensor sets. We demonstrate that best results were obtained when the phone was attached to a stable single line kite or to a gliding drone. Results show that engine or motor vibrations from powered aircraft required dampening to ensure capture of high quality images. We demonstrate how the products generated from the open-source processing workflow are easily used in GIS. The app can be downloaded freely from the Google store by searching for ‘UAV toolkit’ (UAV toolkit 2016), and used wherever an Android smartphone and aerial platform are available to deliver rapid spatial data (e.g. in supporting decision-making in humanitarian disaster-relief zones, in teaching or for grassroots remote sensing and democratic mapping). PMID:27144310

A Grassroots Remote Sensing Toolkit Using Live Coding, Smartphones, Kites and Lightweight Drones.

PubMed

Anderson, K; Griffiths, D; DeBell, L; Hancock, S; Duffy, J P; Shutler, J D; Reinhardt, W J; Griffiths, A

2016-01-01

This manuscript describes the development of an android-based smartphone application for capturing aerial photographs and spatial metadata automatically, for use in grassroots mapping applications. The aim of the project was to exploit the plethora of on-board sensors within modern smartphones (accelerometer, GPS, compass, camera) to generate ready-to-use spatial data from lightweight aerial platforms such as drones or kites. A visual coding 'scheme blocks' framework was used to build the application ('app'), so that users could customise their own data capture tools in the field. The paper reports on the coding framework, then shows the results of test flights from kites and lightweight drones and finally shows how open-source geospatial toolkits were used to generate geographical information system (GIS)-ready GeoTIFF images from the metadata stored by the app. Two Android smartphones were used in testing-a high specification OnePlus One handset and a lower cost Acer Liquid Z3 handset, to test the operational limits of the app on phones with different sensor sets. We demonstrate that best results were obtained when the phone was attached to a stable single line kite or to a gliding drone. Results show that engine or motor vibrations from powered aircraft required dampening to ensure capture of high quality images. We demonstrate how the products generated from the open-source processing workflow are easily used in GIS. The app can be downloaded freely from the Google store by searching for 'UAV toolkit' (UAV toolkit 2016), and used wherever an Android smartphone and aerial platform are available to deliver rapid spatial data (e.g. in supporting decision-making in humanitarian disaster-relief zones, in teaching or for grassroots remote sensing and democratic mapping).

Mobile health data collection at primary health care in Ethiopia: a feasible challenge.

PubMed

Medhanyie, Araya Abrha; Moser, Albine; Spigt, Mark; Yebyo, Henock; Little, Alex; Dinant, GeertJan; Blanco, Roman

2015-01-01

Feasibility assessment of mobile health (mHealth) data collection at primary health care in Ethiopia. A total of 14 health workers were recruited from 12 primary health care facilities to use smartphones, installed with customized data collection application and electronic maternal health care forms for assessing pregnant women's health for 6 months. Qualitative approaches comprising in-depth interviews and field notes were used to document the users' perception and experience in using the application and forms. All health workers had never had previous exposure to smartphones and electronic forms, but they got used to them easily. Over 6 months, all health workers completed a total of 952 patient records using the forms on smartphones. Health workers' acceptability and demand for the application and forms were high. In introducing the application, nontechnical challenges were more difficult to solve than technical challenges. Introducing an mHealth application at primary health care for routine collection of health data relevant to maternal health at a small scale was feasible. Nonetheless, implementing a system of assigning unique and consistent patient identifier, standardization of health services, and improving mobile network coverage would be prerequisites for scaled-up usage of such an application. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A product-service system approach to telehealth application design.

PubMed

Flores-Vaquero, Paul; Tiwari, Ashutosh; Alcock, Jeffrey; Hutabarat, Windo; Turner, Chris

2016-06-01

A considerable proportion of current point-of-care devices do not offer a wide enough set of capabilities if they are to function in any telehealth system. There is a need for intermediate devices that lie between healthcare devices and service networks. The development of an application is suggested that allows for a smartphone to take the role of an intermediate device. This research seeks to identify the telehealth service requirements for long-term condition management using a product-service system approach. The use of product-service system has proven to be a suitable methodology for the design and development of telehealth smartphone applications. © The Author(s) 2014.

Full On-Device Stay Points Detection in Smartphones for Location-Based Mobile Applications

PubMed Central

Pérez-Torres, Rafael; Torres-Huitzil, César; Galeana-Zapién, Hiram

2016-01-01

The tracking of frequently visited places, also known as stay points, is a critical feature in location-aware mobile applications as a way to adapt the information and services provided to smartphones users according to their moving patterns. Location based applications usually employ the GPS receiver along with Wi-Fi hot-spots and cellular cell tower mechanisms for estimating user location. Typically, fine-grained GPS location data are collected by the smartphone and transferred to dedicated servers for trajectory analysis and stay points detection. Such Mobile Cloud Computing approach has been successfully employed for extending smartphone’s battery lifetime by exchanging computation costs, assuming that on-device stay points detection is prohibitive. In this article, we propose and validate the feasibility of having an alternative event-driven mechanism for stay points detection that is executed fully on-device, and that provides higher energy savings by avoiding communication costs. Our solution is encapsulated in a sensing middleware for Android smartphones, where a stream of GPS location updates is collected in the background, supporting duty cycling schemes, and incrementally analyzed following an event-driven paradigm for stay points detection. To evaluate the performance of the proposed middleware, real world experiments were conducted under different stress levels, validating its power efficiency when compared against a Mobile Cloud Computing oriented solution. PMID:27754388

Research on high-speed railway's vibration analysis checking based on intelligent mobile terminal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Peigang; Xie, Shulin; Zhao, Xuefeng

2017-04-01

Recently, the development of high-speed railway meets the requirement of society booming and it has gradually become the first choice for long-length journey. Since ensuring the safety and stable operation are of great importance to high-speed trains owing to its unique features, vibration analysis checking is one of main means to be adopted. Due to the popularization of Smartphone, in this research, a novel public-participating method to achieve high-speed railway's vibration analysis checking based on smartphone and an inspection application of high-speed railway line built in the intelligent mobile terminal were proposed. Utilizing the accelerometer, gyroscope, GPS and other high-performance sensors which were integrated in smartphone, the application can obtain multiple parameters like acceleration, angle, etc and pinpoint the location. Therefore, through analyzing the acceleration data in time domain and frequency domain using fast Fourier transform, the research compared much of data from monitoring tests under different measure conditions and measuring points. Furthermore, an idea of establishing a system about analysis checking was outlined in paper. It has been validated that the smartphone-based high-speed railway line inspection system is reliable and feasible on the high-speed railway lines. And it has more advantages, such as convenience, low cost and being widely used. Obviously, the research has important practical significance and broad application prospects.

The HydroColor App: Above Water Measurements of Remote Sensing Reflectance and Turbidity Using a Smartphone Camera.

PubMed

Leeuw, Thomas; Boss, Emmanuel

2018-01-16

HydroColor is a mobile application that utilizes a smartphone's camera and auxiliary sensors to measure the remote sensing reflectance of natural water bodies. HydroColor uses the smartphone's digital camera as a three-band radiometer. Users are directed by the application to collect a series of three images. These images are used to calculate the remote sensing reflectance in the red, green, and blue broad wavelength bands. As with satellite measurements, the reflectance can be inverted to estimate the concentration of absorbing and scattering substances in the water, which are predominately composed of suspended sediment, chlorophyll, and dissolved organic matter. This publication describes the measurement method and investigates the precision of HydroColor's reflectance and turbidity estimates compared to commercial instruments. It is shown that HydroColor can measure the remote sensing reflectance to within 26% of a precision radiometer and turbidity within 24% of a portable turbidimeter. HydroColor distinguishes itself from other water quality camera methods in that its operation is based on radiometric measurements instead of image color. HydroColor is one of the few mobile applications to use a smartphone as a completely objective sensor, as opposed to subjective user observations or color matching using the human eye. This makes HydroColor a powerful tool for crowdsourcing of aquatic optical data.

Realising the technological promise of smartphones in addiction research and treatment: An ethical review.

PubMed

Capon, Hannah; Hall, Wayne; Fry, Craig; Carter, Adrian

2016-10-01

Smartphone technologies and mHealth applications (or apps) promise unprecedented scope for data collection, treatment intervention, and relapse prevention when used in the field of substance abuse and addiction. This potential also raises new ethical challenges that researchers, clinicians, and software developers must address. This paper aims to identify ethical issues in the current uses of smartphones in addiction research and treatment. A search of three databases (PubMed, Web of Science and PsycInfo) identified 33 studies involving smartphones or mHealth applications for use in the research and treatment of substance abuse and addiction. A content analysis was conducted to identify how smartphones are being used in these fields and to highlight the ethical issues raised by these studies. Smartphones are being used to collect large amounts of sensitive information, including personal information, geo-location, physiological activity, self-reports of mood and cravings, and the consumption of illicit drugs, alcohol and nicotine. Given that detailed information is being collected about potentially illegal behaviour, we identified the following ethical considerations: protecting user privacy, maximising equity in access, ensuring informed consent, providing participants with adequate clinical resources, communicating clinically relevant results to individuals, and the urgent need to demonstrate evidence of safety and efficacy of the technologies. mHealth technology offers the possibility to collect large amounts of valuable personal information that may enhance research and treatment of substance abuse and addiction. To realise this potential researchers, clinicians and app-developers must address these ethical concerns to maximise the benefits and minimise risks of harm to users. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The untapped potential of smartphone sensors for stroke rehabilitation and after-care.

PubMed

Zhang, Melvyn W; Chew, Poh Yim; Yeo, Leonard L; Ho, Roger C

2016-01-01

With the increasing incidences of cerebrovascular disease, as well as the morbidity and mortality associated with it, it is of no surprise that there have been much global governmental interest in the primary prevention of this disorder; or at least in the secondary and tertiary prevention and rehabilitation of individuals who have suffered disabilities arising from a recent cerebrovascular attack. Developers and clinicians have not considered one of the key areas in Stroke prevention and management, which is that of secondary prevention, and in particular that of tapping onto smartphone technologies for stroke rehabilitation. There has been much interest in the development of devices for rehabilitation of stroke patients instead. One of the concerns with regards to conventional bio and mechanical sensors are the costs involved in development, as well as the costs involved when stroke survivors and their caregivers are required to purchase the devices for monitoring and rehabilitation. In view of the current limitations, the S3 Rehab application, which makes use of the smartphone build in sensors, has been conceptualized and has been developed for the two major platforms (Apple and Android platforms). The authors believe that by tapping onto these sensors and by programming a smartphone application that is specifically catered for rehabilitation, it would keep costs minimal for researchers, patients and caregivers. Whilst there is a growing interest in wearable devices and sensors, it is important for developers and researchers to be cognizant that certain interventions, such as rehabilitation could still be done through a smartphone device, instead of investing in new research and development. There are various untapped potential in the smartphone that researchers and developers need to be cognizant of.

[Smartphone usage among adolescents].

PubMed

Körmendi, Attila

2015-01-01

Among our technological gadgets smartphones play the most important role, new generation devices offer other functions beyond calling (internet availability, computer games, music player, camera functions etc.) In everydays can be experienced that youth spend more and more time with their smartphones and despite the actuality of this issue there are no studies on the excessive smartphone usage in Hungary and we can find only a few international studies. Our goal is to examine smartphone usage in primary and secondary schools in Hajdu-Bihar county, Hungary and its relationship with personality traits. Our sample consist of 263 youth from primary and secondary schools. We measured the characteristics of smartphone using and attitudes with a Mobilephone Using Questionnare. Personality traits are measured with Impulsiveness, Venturesomeness, Empathy Scale. The Child Behavior Checklist gives information about peer relationships, mental state and emotions. Average phone using time is 4,48 hours per day regarding the whole sample. This mean for boys is 3,40 hour for girls 5,39 hour. Average phone using time is higher at 16 (6,35 hour per day). The most frequent used applications are calling and visiting community sites. There is no connection between phone using and grades. The smartphone using time per day shows a significant positive relationship with Impulsivity, Anxiety and Depression, Attention deficits and Somatic problems within 17-19 ages. One of the explanation of excessive smartphone using may be the frequent visiting of community sites. Mobile phones in this case raise the availability of addictive object (community site) therefore contribute to the development of community site addiction. The connection with impulsivity, somatic problems and attention deficits refer to the anxiety reducing role of smartphones within 17-19 ages.

Using smartphone apps in STD interviews to find sexual partners.

PubMed

Pennise, Melissa; Inscho, Roxana; Herpin, Kate; Owens, John; Bedard, Brenden A; Weimer, Anita C; Kennedy, Byron S; Younge, Mary

2015-01-01

Smartphone applications (apps) are increasingly used to facilitate casual sexual relationships, increasing the risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). In STD investigations, traditional contact elicitation methods can be enhanced with smartphone technology during field interviews. In 2013, the Monroe County Department of Public Health conducted a large, multi-infection STD investigation among men who have sex with men (MSM) using both index case and cluster interviews. When patients indicated meeting sexual partners online, disease intervention specialists (DISs) had access to smartphone apps and were able to elicit partners through access to inboxes and profiles where traditional contact information was lacking. Social network mapping was used to display the extent of the investigation and the impact of access to smartphones on the investigation. A total of 14 index patient interviews and two cluster interviews were conducted; 97 individuals were identified among 117 sexual dyads. On average, eight partners were elicited per interview (range: 1-31). The seven individuals who used apps to find partners had an average of three Internet partners (range: 1-5). Thirty-six individuals either had a new STD (n=7) or were previously known to be HIV-positive (n=29). Of the 117 sexual dyads, 21 (18%) originated either online (n=8) or with a smartphone app (n=13). Of those originating online or with a smartphone app, six (29%) partners were located using the smartphone and two (10%) were notified of their exposure via a website. Three of the new STD/HIV cases were among partners who met online. Smartphone technology used by DISs in the field improved contact elicitation and resulted in successful partner notification and case finding.

A Smartphone Application Significantly Improved Diabetes Self-Care Activities with High User Satisfaction

PubMed Central

Kim, Yu Jin; Byun, Jong Kyu; Park, So Young; Hong, Soo Min; Chin, Sang Ouk; Chon, Suk; Oh, Seungjoon; Woo, Jeong-taek; Kim, Sung Woon; Kim, Young Seol

2015-01-01

Background We developed for the first time a smartphone application designed for diabetes self-management in Korea and registered a patent for the relevant algorithm. We also investigated the user satisfaction with the application and the change in diabetes related self-care activities after using the application. Methods We conducted a questionnaire survey on volunteers with diabetes who were using the application. Ninety subjects responded to the questionnaire between June 2012 and March 2013. A modified version of the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA) was used in this study. Results The survey results exhibited a mean subject age of 44.0 years old, and males accounted for 78.9% of the subjects. Fifty percent of the subjects had diabetes for less than 3 years. The majority of respondents experienced positive changes in their clinical course after using the application (83.1%) and were satisfied with the structure and completeness of the application (86.7%). Additionally, the respondents' answers indicated that the application was easy to use (96.7%) and recommendable to others (97.7%) and that they would continue using the application to manage their diabetes (96.7%). After using the Diabetes Notepad application, diabetes related self-care activities assessed by SDSCA displayed statistically significant improvements (P<0.05), except for the number of days of drinking. Conclusion This smartphone-based application can be a useful tool leading to positive changes in diabetes related self-care activities and increase user satisfaction. PMID:26124991

Smart roadside initiative : user manual.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-09-01

This document provides the user instructions for the Smart Roadside Initiative (SRI) applications including mobile and web-based SRI applications. These applications include smartphone-enabled information exchange and notification, and software compo...

Smartphones as portable oscilloscopes for physics labs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forinash, Kyle; Wisman, Raymond F.

2012-04-01

Given that today's smartphones are mobile and have more computing power and means to measure the external world than early PCs, they may also revolutionize data collection, both in structured physics laboratory settings and in less predictable situations, outside the classroom. Several examples using the internal sensors available in a smartphone were presented in earlier papers in this column.1, 2 But data collection is not limited only to the phone's internal sensors since most also have a headphone port for connecting an external microphone and speakers. This port can be used to connect to external equipment in much the same way as the game port on the early Apple II was used in school labs. Below is an illustration using the headphone port to receive data from an external circuit: smartphones as a portable oscilloscope using commercially available hardware and applications.

Clinician perceptions of using a smartphone app with prolonged exposure therapy.

PubMed

Kuhn, Eric; Eftekhari, Afsoon; Hoffman, Julia E; Crowley, Jill J; Ramsey, Kelly M; Reger, Greg M; Ruzek, Josef I

2014-11-01

Clinician perceptions of clinical innovations affect their adoption and spread. This study investigated mental health clinicians' (n = 163) perceptions of a patient-facing smartphone application (app) for prolonged exposure (PE) therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder, before its public release. After reading a description of the app, participants rated perceptions of it based on diffusion of innovations theory constructs. Perceptions were generally favorable regarding the app's relative advantage over existing PE practices, compatibility with their values and needs, and complexity. Age (<40 years), smartphone ownership, and having used apps in care related to more favorable perceptions. Smartphone ownership, relative advantage, and complexity significantly predicted intention to use the app if it were available. These findings suggest that clinicians are receptive to using a PE app and that dissemination efforts should target sub-groups of PE clinicians to maximize adoption.

A Survey on the Willingness to Use Physical Activity Smartphone Applications (Apps) in Patients with Chronic Diseases.

PubMed

Sun, Liu; Jiao, Chen; Wang, Yanling; Xiao, Qian; Zhang, Yiling; Wu, Ying

2016-01-01

This study aimed to explore the willingness of using physical activity smartphone apps among patients with chronic diseases. 218 outpatients from a tertiary hospital in Beijing were involved using a questionnaire. Over half of the patients (53.7%) were willing to use smartphone apps to promote physical activities. The individuals more likely to use physical activity apps tended to be younger (≤44 years), be more educated, perceiving their disease need exercise instruction or professional support, current smartphone user, having previous experience of using physical activity apps, and accepting paid apps (P<0.05). The results could help health educator suggest chronic disease patients to use apps to do more exercises. Further research could be focus on evaluate the effects of using physical activity apps in chronic disease patients.

Pro-smoking apps for smartphones: the latest vehicle for the tobacco industry?

PubMed

BinDhim, Nasser F; Freeman, Becky; Trevena, Lyndal

2014-01-01

Smartphone use is growing exponentially and will soon become the only mobile phone handset for about 6 billion users. Smartphones are ideal marketing targets as consumers can be reached anytime, anywhere. Smartphone application (app) stores are global shops that sell apps to users all around the world. Although smartphone stores have a wide collection of health-related apps they also have a wide set of harmful apps. In this study, the availability of 'pro-smoking' apps in two of the largest smartphone app stores (Apple App store and Android Market) was examined. In February 2012, we searched the Apple App Store and Android Market for pro-smoking apps, using the keywords Smoke, Cigarette, Cigar, Smoking and Tobacco. We excluded apps that were not tobacco-related and then assessed the tobacco-related apps against our inclusion criteria. 107 pro-smoking apps were identified and classified into six categories based on functionality.42 of these apps were from the Android Market and downloaded by over 6 million users. Some apps have explicit images of cigarette brands. Tobacco products are being promoted in the new 'smartphone app' medium which has global reach, a huge consumer base of various age groups and underdeveloped regulation. The paper also provides two examples of app store responses to country-specific laws and regulations that could be used to control the harmful contents in the app stores for individual countries.

Reconfigurable Embedded System for Electrocardiogram Acquisition.

PubMed

Kay, Marcel Seiji; Iaione, Fábio

2015-01-01

Smartphones include features that offers the chance to develop mobile systems in medical field, resulting in an area called mobile-health. One of the most common medical examinations is the electrocardiogram (ECG), which allows the diagnosis of various heart diseases, leading to preventative measures and preventing more serious problems. The objective of this study was to develop a wireless reconfigurable embedded system using a FPAA (Field Programmable Analog Array), for the acquisition of ECG signals, and an application showing and storing these signals on Android smartphones. The application also performs the partial FPAA reconfiguration in real time (adjustable gain). Previous studies using FPAA usually use the development boards provided by the manufacturer (high cost), do not allow the reconfiguration in real time, use no smartphone and communicate via cables. The parameters tested in the acquisition circuit and the quality of ECGs registered in an individual were satisfactory.

Using the Periscope Live Video-Streaming Application for Global Pathology Education: A Brief Introduction.

PubMed

Fuller, Maren Y; Mukhopadhyay, Sanjay; Gardner, Jerad M

2016-07-21

Periscope is a live video-streaming smartphone application (app) that allows any individual with a smartphone to broadcast live video simultaneously to multiple smartphone users around the world. The aim of this review is to describe the potential of this emerging technology for global pathology education. To our knowledge, since the launch of the Periscope app (2015), only a handful of educational presentations by pathologists have been streamed as live video via Periscope. This review includes links to these initial attempts, a step-by-step guide for those interested in using the app for pathology education, and a summary of the pros and cons, including ethical/legal issues. We hope that pathologists will appreciate the potential of Periscope for sharing their knowledge, expertise, and research with a live (and potentially large) audience without the barriers associated with traditional video equipment and standard classroom/conference settings.

The Development of an Innovative Resonance Experiment Using Smartphones with Free Mobile Software Applications for Tertiary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abidin, Nurul Aina Syakirah Zainal; Tho, Siew Wei

2018-01-01

The purpose of this research was to design and develop hands-on practical physics activity for the determination of relationship between the fundamental frequency and wavelength of standing waves using open or closed resonance tubes. In this study, an innovative use of smartphone device for the hands-on practical activity was developed with the…

Smartphone based automatic organ validation in ultrasound video.

PubMed

Vaish, Pallavi; Bharath, R; Rajalakshmi, P

2017-07-01

Telesonography involves transmission of ultrasound video from remote areas to the doctors for getting diagnosis. Due to the lack of trained sonographers in remote areas, the ultrasound videos scanned by these untrained persons do not contain the proper information that is required by a physician. As compared to standard methods for video transmission, mHealth driven systems need to be developed for transmitting valid medical videos. To overcome this problem, we are proposing an organ validation algorithm to evaluate the ultrasound video based on the content present. This will guide the semi skilled person to acquire the representative data from patient. Advancement in smartphone technology allows us to perform high medical image processing on smartphone. In this paper we have developed an Application (APP) for a smartphone which can automatically detect the valid frames (which consist of clear organ visibility) in an ultrasound video and ignores the invalid frames (which consist of no-organ visibility), and produces a compressed sized video. This is done by extracting the GIST features from the Region of Interest (ROI) of the frame and then classifying the frame using SVM classifier with quadratic kernel. The developed application resulted with the accuracy of 94.93% in classifying valid and invalid images.

iParking: An Intelligent Indoor Location-Based Smartphone Parking Service

PubMed Central

Liu, Jingbin; Chen, Ruizhi; Chen, Yuwei; Pei, Ling; Chen, Liang

2012-01-01

Indoor positioning technologies have been widely studied with a number of solutions being proposed, yet substantial applications and services are still fairly primitive. Taking advantage of the emerging concept of the connected car, the popularity of smartphones and mobile Internet, and precise indoor locations, this study presents the development of a novel intelligent parking service called iParking. With the iParking service, multiple parties such as users, parking facilities and service providers are connected through Internet in a distributed architecture. The client software is a light-weight application running on a smartphone, and it works essentially based on a precise indoor positioning solution, which fuses Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) signals and the measurements of the built-in sensors of the smartphones. The positioning accuracy, availability and reliability of the proposed positioning solution are adequate for facilitating the novel parking service. An iParking prototype has been developed and demonstrated in a real parking environment at a shopping mall. The demonstration showed how the iParking service could improve the parking experience and increase the efficiency of parking facilities. The iParking is a novel service in terms of cost- and energy-efficient solution. PMID:23202179

iParking: an intelligent indoor location-based smartphone parking service.

PubMed

Liu, Jingbin; Chen, Ruizhi; Chen, Yuwei; Pei, Ling; Chen, Liang

2012-10-31

Indoor positioning technologies have been widely studied with a number of solutions being proposed, yet substantial applications and services are still fairly primitive. Taking advantage of the emerging concept of the connected car, the popularity of smartphones and mobile Internet, and precise indoor locations, this study presents the development of a novel intelligent parking service called iParking. With the iParking service, multiple parties such as users, parking facilities and service providers are connected through Internet in a distributed architecture. The client software is a light-weight application running on a smartphone, and it works essentially based on a precise indoor positioning solution, which fuses Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) signals and the measurements of the built-in sensors of the smartphones. The positioning accuracy, availability and reliability of the proposed positioning solution are adequate for facilitating the novel parking service. An iParking prototype has been developed and demonstrated in a real parking environment at a shopping mall. The demonstration showed how the iParking service could improve the parking experience and increase the efficiency of parking facilities. The iParking is a novel service in terms of cost- and energy-efficient solution.

An Energy-Efficient Multi-Tier Architecture for Fall Detection Using Smartphones.

PubMed

Guvensan, M Amac; Kansiz, A Oguz; Camgoz, N Cihan; Turkmen, H Irem; Yavuz, A Gokhan; Karsligil, M Elif

2017-06-23

Automatic detection of fall events is vital to providing fast medical assistance to the causality, particularly when the injury causes loss of consciousness. Optimization of the energy consumption of mobile applications, especially those which run 24/7 in the background, is essential for longer use of smartphones. In order to improve energy-efficiency without compromising on the fall detection performance, we propose a novel 3-tier architecture that combines simple thresholding methods with machine learning algorithms. The proposed method is implemented on a mobile application, called uSurvive, for Android smartphones. It runs as a background service and monitors the activities of a person in daily life and automatically sends a notification to the appropriate authorities and/or user defined contacts when it detects a fall. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated in terms of fall detection performance and energy consumption. Real life performance tests conducted on two different models of smartphone demonstrate that our 3-tier architecture with feature reduction could save up to 62% of energy compared to machine learning only solutions. In addition to this energy saving, the hybrid method has a 93% of accuracy, which is superior to thresholding methods and better than machine learning only solutions.

The Smartphone Brain Scanner: A Portable Real-Time Neuroimaging System

PubMed Central

Stopczynski, Arkadiusz; Stahlhut, Carsten; Larsen, Jakob Eg; Petersen, Michael Kai; Hansen, Lars Kai

2014-01-01

Combining low-cost wireless EEG sensors with smartphones offers novel opportunities for mobile brain imaging in an everyday context. Here we present the technical details and validation of a framework for building multi-platform, portable EEG applications with real-time 3D source reconstruction. The system – Smartphone Brain Scanner – combines an off-the-shelf neuroheadset or EEG cap with a smartphone or tablet, and as such represents the first fully portable system for real-time 3D EEG imaging. We discuss the benefits and challenges, including technical limitations as well as details of real-time reconstruction of 3D images of brain activity. We present examples of brain activity captured in a simple experiment involving imagined finger tapping, which shows that the acquired signal in a relevant brain region is similar to that obtained with standard EEG lab equipment. Although the quality of the signal in a mobile solution using an off-the-shelf consumer neuroheadset is lower than the signal obtained using high-density standard EEG equipment, we propose mobile application development may offset the disadvantages and provide completely new opportunities for neuroimaging in natural settings. PMID:24505263

A smartphone application to support recovery from alcoholism: A randomized controlled trial

PubMed Central

Gustafson, David H.; McTavish, Fiona M.; Chih, Ming-Yuan; Atwood, Amy K.; A. Johnson, Roberta; G. Boyle, Michael; S. Levy, Michael; Driscoll, Hilary; M. Chisholm, Steven; Dillenburg, Lisa; Isham, Andrew; Shah, Dhavan

2014-01-01

Importance: Patients leaving treatment for alcohol-use disorders (AUDs) are not typically offered evidence-based continuing care, although research suggests that continuing care is associated with better outcomes. A smartphone-based application could provide effective continuing care. Objective: To determine whether patients leaving residential treatment for AUDs with a smartphone application to support recovery have fewer risky drinking days than control-group patients. Design: An un-blinded randomized controlled trial. Patients were randomized to treatment as usual or treatment as usual plus a smartphone with A-CHESS, an application designed to improve continuing care for AUDs. “A-CHESS” stands for Addiction – Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System. Setting: Three residential programs operated by one treatment organization in the Midwestern US and 2 residential programs operated by one organization in the Northeastern US. Participants: 349 patients who met the criteria for DSM-IV alcohol dependence when they entered residential treatment. 179 were randomized to the control group and 170 to the treatment group. Intervention: Treatment as usual varied across programs; none offered patients coordinated continuing care after discharge. A-CHESS provides monitoring, information, communication, and support services to patients, including ways for patients and counselors to stay in contact. The intervention lasted 8 months and the follow-up period lasted 4 months. Main Outcome Measure: Risky drinking days—the number of days during which a patient’s drinking in a 2-hour period exceeded, for men, 4 standard drinks and for women, 3 standard drinks. Patients were asked to report their risky drinking days in the previous 30 days on surveys taken 4, 8, and 12 months after discharge from residential treatment. Results: For the 8 months of the intervention and 4 months of follow-up, patients in the A-CHESS group reported significantly fewer risky drinking days than patients in the control group (M = 1.39 vs. 2.75, respectively; P = .003; 95% CI [.46, 2.27]). Conclusions and Relevance: The findings suggest that a multi-featured smartphone application may have significant benefit to patients in continuing care for AUDs. Trial registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01003119 PMID:24671165

Analysis of Trigger Factors in Episodic Migraineurs Using a Smartphone Headache Diary Applications

PubMed Central

Park, Jeong-Wook; Chu, Min Kyung; Kim, Jae-Moon; Park, Sang-Gue; Cho, Soo-Jin

2016-01-01

Background Various stimuli can trigger migraines in susceptible individuals. We examined migraine trigger factors by using a smartphone headache diary application. Method Episodic migraineurs who agreed to participate in our study downloaded smartphone headache diary application, which was designed to capture the details regarding headache trigger factors and characteristics for 3 months. The participants were asked to access the smartphone headache diary application daily and to confirm the presence of a headache and input the types of trigger factors. Results Sixty-two participants kept diary entries until the end of the study. The diary data for 4,579 days were analyzed. In this data set, 1,099 headache days (336 migraines, 763 non-migraine headaches) were recorded; of these, 772 headache events had with trigger factors, and 327 events did not have trigger factors. The common trigger factors that were present on headache days included stress, fatigue, sleep deprivation, hormonal changes, and weather changes. The likelihood of a headache trigger was 57.7% for stress, 55.1% for sleep deprivation, 48.5% for fatigue, and 46.5% for any trigger. The headaches with trigger factors were associated with greater pain intensity (p<0.001), headache-related disability (p<0.001), abortive medication use (p = 0.02), and the proportion of migraine (p < 0.001), relative to those without trigger factors. Traveling (odd ratios [OR]: 6.4), hormonal changes (OR: 3.5), noise (OR: 2.8), alcohol (OR: 2.5), overeating (OR: 2.4), and stress (OR:1.8) were significantly associated with migraines compared to non-migraine headaches. The headaches that were associated with hormonal changes or noise were more often migraines, regardless of the preventive medication. The headaches due to stress, overeating, alcohol, and traveling were more often migraines without preventive medication, but it was not evident with preventive medication. Conclusion Smartphone headache diary application is an effective tool to assess migraine trigger factors. The headaches with trigger factors had greater severity or migraine features. The type of triggers and the presence of preventive medication influenced the headache characteristics; hence, an investigation of trigger factors would be helpful in understanding migraine occurrences. PMID:26901341

Analysis of Trigger Factors in Episodic Migraineurs Using a Smartphone Headache Diary Applications.

PubMed

Park, Jeong-Wook; Chu, Min Kyung; Kim, Jae-Moon; Park, Sang-Gue; Cho, Soo-Jin

2016-01-01

Various stimuli can trigger migraines in susceptible individuals. We examined migraine trigger factors by using a smartphone headache diary application. Episodic migraineurs who agreed to participate in our study downloaded smartphone headache diary application, which was designed to capture the details regarding headache trigger factors and characteristics for 3 months. The participants were asked to access the smartphone headache diary application daily and to confirm the presence of a headache and input the types of trigger factors. Sixty-two participants kept diary entries until the end of the study. The diary data for 4,579 days were analyzed. In this data set, 1,099 headache days (336 migraines, 763 non-migraine headaches) were recorded; of these, 772 headache events had with trigger factors, and 327 events did not have trigger factors. The common trigger factors that were present on headache days included stress, fatigue, sleep deprivation, hormonal changes, and weather changes. The likelihood of a headache trigger was 57.7% for stress, 55.1% for sleep deprivation, 48.5% for fatigue, and 46.5% for any trigger. The headaches with trigger factors were associated with greater pain intensity (p<0.001), headache-related disability (p<0.001), abortive medication use (p = 0.02), and the proportion of migraine (p < 0.001), relative to those without trigger factors. Traveling (odd ratios [OR]: 6.4), hormonal changes (OR: 3.5), noise (OR: 2.8), alcohol (OR: 2.5), overeating (OR: 2.4), and stress (OR:1.8) were significantly associated with migraines compared to non-migraine headaches. The headaches that were associated with hormonal changes or noise were more often migraines, regardless of the preventive medication. The headaches due to stress, overeating, alcohol, and traveling were more often migraines without preventive medication, but it was not evident with preventive medication. Smartphone headache diary application is an effective tool to assess migraine trigger factors. The headaches with trigger factors had greater severity or migraine features. The type of triggers and the presence of preventive medication influenced the headache characteristics; hence, an investigation of trigger factors would be helpful in understanding migraine occurrences.

Smartphone use can be addictive? A case report.

PubMed

Körmendi, Attila; Brutóczki, Zita; Végh, Bianka Petra; Székely, Rita

2016-09-01

Background and aims The use of mobile phones has become an integral part of everyday life. Young people in particular can be observed using their smartphones constantly, and they not only make or receive calls but also use different applications or just tap touch screens for several minutes at a time. The opportunities provided by smartphones are attractive, and the cumulative time of using smartphones per day is very high for many people, so the question arises whether we can really speak of a mobile phone addiction? In this study, our aim is to describe and analyze a possible case of smartphone addiction. Methods We present the case of Anette, an 18-year-old girl, who is characterized by excessive smartphone use. We compare Anette's symptoms to Griffiths's conception of technological addictions, Goodman's criteria of behavioral addictions, and the DSM-5 criteria of gambling disorder. Results Anette fulfills almost all the criteria of Griffiths, Goodman, and the DSM-5, and she spends about 8 hr in a day using her smartphone. Discussion Anette's excessive mobile phone usage includes different types of addictive behaviors: making selfies and editing them for hours, watching movies, surfing on the Internet, and, above all, visiting social sites. The cumulative time of these activities results in a very high level of smartphone use. The device in her case is a tool that provides these activities for her whole day. Most of Anette's activities with a mobile phone are connected to community sites, so her main problem may be a community site addiction.

Smartphone use can be addictive? A case report

PubMed Central

Körmendi, Attila; Brutóczki, Zita; Végh, Bianka Petra; Székely, Rita

2016-01-01

Background and aims The use of mobile phones has become an integral part of everyday life. Young people in particular can be observed using their smartphones constantly, and they not only make or receive calls but also use different applications or just tap touch screens for several minutes at a time. The opportunities provided by smartphones are attractive, and the cumulative time of using smartphones per day is very high for many people, so the question arises whether we can really speak of a mobile phone addiction? In this study, our aim is to describe and analyze a possible case of smartphone addiction. Methods We present the case of Anette, an 18-year-old girl, who is characterized by excessive smartphone use. We compare Anette’s symptoms to Griffiths’s conception of technological addictions, Goodman’s criteria of behavioral addictions, and the DSM-5 criteria of gambling disorder. Results Anette fulfills almost all the criteria of Griffiths, Goodman, and the DSM-5, and she spends about 8 hr in a day using her smartphone. Discussion Anette’s excessive mobile phone usage includes different types of addictive behaviors: making selfies and editing them for hours, watching movies, surfing on the Internet, and, above all, visiting social sites. The cumulative time of these activities results in a very high level of smartphone use. The device in her case is a tool that provides these activities for her whole day. Most of Anette’s activities with a mobile phone are connected to community sites, so her main problem may be a community site addiction. PMID:27599674

Mobile healthcare applications: system design review, critical issues and challenges.

PubMed

Baig, Mirza Mansoor; GholamHosseini, Hamid; Connolly, Martin J

2015-03-01

Mobile phones are becoming increasingly important in monitoring and delivery of healthcare interventions. They are often considered as pocket computers, due to their advanced computing features, enhanced preferences and diverse capabilities. Their sophisticated sensors and complex software applications make the mobile healthcare (m-health) based applications more feasible and innovative. In a number of scenarios user-friendliness, convenience and effectiveness of these systems have been acknowledged by both patients as well as healthcare providers. M-health technology employs advanced concepts and techniques from multidisciplinary fields of electrical engineering, computer science, biomedical engineering and medicine which benefit the innovations of these fields towards healthcare systems. This paper deals with two important aspects of current mobile phone based sensor applications in healthcare. Firstly, critical review of advanced applications such as; vital sign monitoring, blood glucose monitoring and in-built camera based smartphone sensor applications. Secondly, investigating challenges and critical issues related to the use of smartphones in healthcare including; reliability, efficiency, mobile phone platform variability, cost effectiveness, energy usage, user interface, quality of medical data, and security and privacy. It was found that the mobile based applications have been widely developed in recent years with fast growing deployment by healthcare professionals and patients. However, despite the advantages of smartphones in patient monitoring, education, and management there are some critical issues and challenges related to security and privacy of data, acceptability, reliability and cost that need to be addressed.

Measuring and characterizing beat phenomena with a smartphone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osorio, M.; Pereyra, C. J.; Gau, D. L.; Laguarda, A.

2018-03-01

Nowadays, smartphones are in everyone’s life. Apart from being excellent tools for work and communication, they can also be used to perform several measurements of simple physical magnitudes, serving as a mobile and inexpensive laboratory, ideal for use physics lectures in high schools or universities. In this article, we use a smartphone to analyse the acoustic beat phenomena by using a simple experimental setup, which can complement lessons in the classroom. The beats were created by the superposition of the waves generated by two tuning forks, with their natural frequencies previously characterized using different applications. After the characterization, we recorded the beats and analysed the oscillations in time and frequency.

Standalone Mobile Application for Shipping Services Based on Geographic Information System and A-Star Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gunawan, D.; Marzuki, I.; Candra, A.

2018-03-01

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) plays an essential role in shipping service related application. By utilizing GIS, the courier can find the route to deliver goods for its customer. This research proposes a standalone mobile application to provide the shortest route to the destinations by utilizing geographic information systems with A-Star algorithm. This application is intended to be used although the area has no Internet network available. The developed application can handle several drop off points then calculates the shortest route that passes through all the drop off points. According to the conducted testing, the number of drop off points that can be calculated is influenced by the specification of the smartphone. More destinations require more smartphone resources and time to process.

Validity and practicability of smartphone-based photographic food records for estimating energy and nutrient intake.

PubMed

Kong, Kaimeng; Zhang, Lulu; Huang, Lisu; Tao, Yexuan

2017-05-01

Image-assisted dietary assessment methods are frequently used to record individual eating habits. This study tested the validity of a smartphone-based photographic food recording approach by comparing the results obtained with those of a weighed food record. We also assessed the practicality of the method by using it to measure the energy and nutrient intake of college students. The experiment was implemented in two phases, each lasting 2 weeks. In the first phase, a labelled menu and a photograph database were constructed. The energy and nutrient content of 31 randomly selected dishes in three different portion sizes were then estimated by the photograph-based method and compared with a weighed food record. In the second phase, we combined the smartphone-based photographic method with the WeChat smartphone application and applied this to 120 randomly selected participants to record their energy and nutrient intake. The Pearson correlation coefficients for energy, protein, fat, and carbohydrate content between the weighed and the photographic food record were 0.997, 0.936, 0.996, and 0.999, respectively. Bland-Altman plots showed good agreement between the two methods. The estimated protein, fat, and carbohydrate intake by participants was in accordance with values in the Chinese Residents' Nutrition and Chronic Disease report (2015). Participants expressed satisfaction with the new approach and the compliance rate was 97.5%. The smartphone-based photographic dietary assessment method combined with the WeChat instant messaging application was effective and practical for use by young people.

EEG Recording and Online Signal Processing on Android: A Multiapp Framework for Brain-Computer Interfaces on Smartphone

PubMed Central

Debener, Stefan; Emkes, Reiner; Volkening, Nils; Fudickar, Sebastian; Bleichner, Martin G.

2017-01-01

Objective Our aim was the development and validation of a modular signal processing and classification application enabling online electroencephalography (EEG) signal processing on off-the-shelf mobile Android devices. The software application SCALA (Signal ProCessing and CLassification on Android) supports a standardized communication interface to exchange information with external software and hardware. Approach In order to implement a closed-loop brain-computer interface (BCI) on the smartphone, we used a multiapp framework, which integrates applications for stimulus presentation, data acquisition, data processing, classification, and delivery of feedback to the user. Main Results We have implemented the open source signal processing application SCALA. We present timing test results supporting sufficient temporal precision of audio events. We also validate SCALA with a well-established auditory selective attention paradigm and report above chance level classification results for all participants. Regarding the 24-channel EEG signal quality, evaluation results confirm typical sound onset auditory evoked potentials as well as cognitive event-related potentials that differentiate between correct and incorrect task performance feedback. Significance We present a fully smartphone-operated, modular closed-loop BCI system that can be combined with different EEG amplifiers and can easily implement other paradigms. PMID:29349070

EEG Recording and Online Signal Processing on Android: A Multiapp Framework for Brain-Computer Interfaces on Smartphone.

PubMed

Blum, Sarah; Debener, Stefan; Emkes, Reiner; Volkening, Nils; Fudickar, Sebastian; Bleichner, Martin G

2017-01-01

Our aim was the development and validation of a modular signal processing and classification application enabling online electroencephalography (EEG) signal processing on off-the-shelf mobile Android devices. The software application SCALA (Signal ProCessing and CLassification on Android) supports a standardized communication interface to exchange information with external software and hardware. In order to implement a closed-loop brain-computer interface (BCI) on the smartphone, we used a multiapp framework, which integrates applications for stimulus presentation, data acquisition, data processing, classification, and delivery of feedback to the user. We have implemented the open source signal processing application SCALA. We present timing test results supporting sufficient temporal precision of audio events. We also validate SCALA with a well-established auditory selective attention paradigm and report above chance level classification results for all participants. Regarding the 24-channel EEG signal quality, evaluation results confirm typical sound onset auditory evoked potentials as well as cognitive event-related potentials that differentiate between correct and incorrect task performance feedback. We present a fully smartphone-operated, modular closed-loop BCI system that can be combined with different EEG amplifiers and can easily implement other paradigms.

Training of carbohydrate estimation for people with diabetes using mobile augmented reality.

PubMed

Domhardt, Michael; Tiefengrabner, Martin; Dinic, Radomir; Fötschl, Ulrike; Oostingh, Gertie J; Stütz, Thomas; Stechemesser, Lars; Weitgasser, Raimund; Ginzinger, Simon W

2015-05-01

Imprecise carbohydrate counting as a measure to guide the treatment of diabetes may be a source of errors resulting in problems in glycemic control. Exact measurements can be tedious, leading most patients to estimate their carbohydrate intake. In the presented pilot study a smartphone application (BE(AR)), that guides the estimation of the amounts of carbohydrates, was used by a group of diabetic patients. Eight adult patients with diabetes mellitus type 1 were recruited for the study. At the beginning of the study patients were introduced to BE(AR) in sessions lasting 45 minutes per patient. Patients redraw the real food in 3D on the smartphone screen. Based on a selected food type and the 3D form created using BE(AR) an estimation of carbohydrate content is calculated. Patients were supplied with the application on their personal smartphone or a loaner device and were instructed to use the application in real-world context during the study period. For evaluation purpose a test measuring carbohydrate estimation quality was designed and performed at the beginning and the end of the study. In 44% of the estimations performed at the end of the study the error reduced by at least 6 grams of carbohydrate. This improvement occurred albeit several problems with the usage of BE(AR) were reported. Despite user interaction problems in this group of patients the provided intervention resulted in a reduction in the absolute error of carbohydrate estimation. Intervention with smartphone applications to assist carbohydrate counting apparently results in more accurate estimations. © 2015 Diabetes Technology Society.

The use of a smartphone application for fast lung cancer risk assessment†.

PubMed

Szanto, Zalan; Benko, Istvan; Jakab, Laszlo; Szalai, Gabor; Vereczkei, Andras

2017-06-01

The overall prognosis of lung cancer is poor: Only every 8 patient survives 5 years after diagnosis. This outcome is partly attributable to late diagnosis. To implement a screening program for early diagnosis, selection of high-risk individuals is essential. Our aim was to construct a personalized lung cancer risk assessment tool using geographic localization to lead the high-risk individuals to the local health care provider. A smartphone application was created for Android and iOS mobile platforms using a risk assessment questionnaire. The software provides immediate classification into low, moderate and high-risk groups. The high-risk group is directed to the nearest screening centre based on GPS location. The complete test data set is recorded on a collection server database for further analysis. The application was downloaded 13 890 times and completed by 89 500 persons over a period of 20 months. The mean age of the tested users was 36.91 years (9-93 years); the majority were men living in an urban area (62.3%). The test was completed by 38 850 active smokers and 26 710 persons who reported having already quit smoking, resulting in 30 072 moderate and 10 740 high-risk users. This free application is an active communication tool for most smartphone owners. It helps those who might need further medical attention. The affected users can be easily connected and localized via the smartphone, which helps recruit individuals into screening programs. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.

A smartphone application for dispatch of lay responders to out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.

PubMed

Berglund, Ellinor; Claesson, Andreas; Nordberg, Per; Djärv, Therese; Lundgren, Peter; Folke, Fredrik; Forsberg, Sune; Riva, Gabriel; Ringh, Mattias

2018-05-01

Dispatch of lay volunteers trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and equipped with automated external defibrillators (AEDs) may improve survival in cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). The aim of this study was to investigate the functionality and performance of a smartphone application for locating and alerting nearby trained laymen/women in cases of OHCA. A system using a smartphone application activated by Emergency Dispatch Centres was used to locate and alert laymen/women to nearby suspected OHCAs. Lay responders were instructed either to perform CPR or collect a nearby AED. An online survey was carried out among the responders. From February to August 2016, the system was activated in 685 cases of suspected OHCA. Among these, 224 cases were Emergency Medical Services (EMSs)-treated OHCAs (33%). EMS-witnessed cases (n = 11) and cases with missing survey data (n = 15) were excluded. In the remaining 198 OHCAs, lay responders arrived at the scene in 116 cases (58%), and prior to EMSs in 51 cases (26%). An AED was attached in 17 cases (9%) and 4 (2%) were defibrillated. Lay responders performed CPR in 54 cases (27%). Median distance to the OHCA was 560 m (IQR 332-860 m), and 1280 m (IQR 748-1776 m) via AED pick-up. The survey-answering rate was 82%. A smartphone application can be used to alert CPR-trained lay volunteers to OHCAs for CPR. Further improvements are needed to shorten the time to defibrillation before EMS arrival. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Smartphone Applications for Mental Health.

PubMed

Radovic, Ana; Vona, Pamela L; Santostefano, Antonella M; Ciaravino, Samantha; Miller, Elizabeth; Stein, Bradley D

2016-07-01

Many adolescents and adults do not seek treatment for mental health symptoms. Smartphone applications (apps) may assist individuals with mental health concerns in alleviating symptoms or increasing understanding. This study seeks to characterize apps readily available to smartphone users seeking mental health information and/or support. Ten key terms were searched in the Apple iTunes and Google Play stores: mental health, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar, trauma, trauma in schools, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), child trauma, and bullying. A content analysis of the first 20 application descriptions retrieved per category was conducted. Out of 300 nonduplicate applications, 208 (70%) were relevant to search topic, mental health or stress. The most common purported purpose for the apps was symptom relief (41%; n = 85) and general mental health education (18%; n = 37). The most frequently mentioned approaches to improving mental health were those that may benefit only milder symptoms such as relaxation (21%; n = 43). Most app descriptions did not include information to substantiate stated effectiveness of the application (59%; n = 123) and had no mention of privacy or security (89%; n = 185). Due to uncertainty of the helpfulness of readily available mental health applications, clinicians working with mental health patients should inquire about and provide guidance on application use, and patients should have access to ways to assess the potential utility of these applications. Strategic policy and research developments are likely needed to equip patients with applications for mental health, which are patient centered and evidence based.

Smartphone Applications for Mental Health

PubMed Central

Vona, Pamela L.; Santostefano, Antonella M.; Ciaravino, Samantha; Miller, Elizabeth; Stein, Bradley D.

2016-01-01

Abstract Many adolescents and adults do not seek treatment for mental health symptoms. Smartphone applications (apps) may assist individuals with mental health concerns in alleviating symptoms or increasing understanding. This study seeks to characterize apps readily available to smartphone users seeking mental health information and/or support. Ten key terms were searched in the Apple iTunes and Google Play stores: mental health, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar, trauma, trauma in schools, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), child trauma, and bullying. A content analysis of the first 20 application descriptions retrieved per category was conducted. Out of 300 nonduplicate applications, 208 (70%) were relevant to search topic, mental health or stress. The most common purported purpose for the apps was symptom relief (41%; n = 85) and general mental health education (18%; n = 37). The most frequently mentioned approaches to improving mental health were those that may benefit only milder symptoms such as relaxation (21%; n = 43). Most app descriptions did not include information to substantiate stated effectiveness of the application (59%; n = 123) and had no mention of privacy or security (89%; n = 185). Due to uncertainty of the helpfulness of readily available mental health applications, clinicians working with mental health patients should inquire about and provide guidance on application use, and patients should have access to ways to assess the potential utility of these applications. Strategic policy and research developments are likely needed to equip patients with applications for mental health, which are patient centered and evidence based. PMID:27428034

Mobile Exergaming for Health-Effects of a serious game application for smartphones on physical activity and exercise adherence in type 2 diabetes mellitus-study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Höchsmann, Christoph; Walz, Steffen P; Schäfer, Juliane; Holopainen, Jussi; Hanssen, Henner; Schmidt-Trucksäss, Arno

2017-03-06

Exergaming is a novel approach to increase motivation for regular physical activity (PA) among sedentary individuals such as patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Because existing exergames do not offer fitness-level adjusted, individualized workouts and are normally stationary (TV bound), thus not enabling PA anywhere and at any time, we developed a smartphone-based, game-like software application (MOBIGAME) specifically designed for middle-aged T2DM patients to induce a healthier, more active lifestyle as part of successful T2DM treatment and management. In a randomized controlled trial we aim to examine whether our smartphone-based game application can lead to increases in daily PA in T2DM patients that are persistent in the mid to long term and whether these increases are greater than those in a control group. This study is designed as a randomized controlled trial. We plan to recruit a total of 42 T2DM patients [45-70 years, body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m 2 , low daily PA, regular smartphone use]. The experimental intervention (duration 24 weeks) includes individualized multidimensional home-based exercise and daily PA promotion administered through MOBIGAME. The control intervention consists of a one-time standard lifestyle counseling including the promotion of baseline activities. The primary outcome is daily PA measured as steps per day. Secondary outcome is exercise adherence measured via the usage data from the participants' smartphones (experimental intervention) and as self-recorded exercise log entries (control intervention). We will test the hypothesis that there will be differences between the experimental and control group with respect to post-interventional daily PA (as well as all other outcomes) using analysis of covariance. For each analysis, an estimate (with 95% confidence interval) of the difference in outcome between both groups will be reported. This research will investigate the effectiveness of a novel smartphone-based, game-like software application to be used as a way to promote regular daily PA among inactive T2DM patients. The results of this trial may have important implications for future PA-promoting interventions and provide relevant information for the general transferability of such applications to be used as part of the treatment in other chronic diseases. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02657018 . Registered on 11 January 2016. Last status update on 3 May 2016. Kofam.ch, SNCTP-number:SNCTP000001652. Registered on 21 January 2016.

Lennie: a smartphone application with novel implications for the management of animal colonies.

PubMed

Allwood, M A; Griffith, D; Allen, C; Reed, J; Mahmoud, Q H; Brunt, K R; Simpson, J A

2015-07-01

Researchers rely on animals for their clinical applicability and ease of monitoring. However, careful management is required to ensure the animal and financial costs are minimized. The incorporation of 'smartphone' technology in research has increased exponentially, with a focus on the development of innovative research-based applications. We have developed a smartphone application designed to address the needs of modern researchers in the management of their colonies. 'Lennie' introduces a new method for the management of small to medium-sized animal colonies. Lennie allows users wireless access to their colonies with the ability to create and edit from virtually anywhere. Lennie also offers the ability to manage colonies based on experiments by assigning animals based on priority. Experimental time-points are also recorded with integrated scheduling options using the calendar function. Lennie represents an alternative to current large-scale software options, as the application design is simple, and requires no training or manuals. As the technological landscape is constantly evolving, we must continue to find ways to improve upon current practices to ensure that research is completed with efficiency and efficacy. With this new method of animal management, researchers are able to spend less time record keeping and can focus their efforts on continued innovation. © The Author(s) 2015.

A Smart Voltage and Current Monitoring System for Three Phase Inverters Using an Android Smartphone Application

PubMed Central

Mnati, Mohannad Jabbar; Van den Bossche, Alex; Chisab, Raad Farhood

2017-01-01

In this paper, a new smart voltage and current monitoring system (SVCMS) technique is proposed. It monitors a three phase electrical system using an Arduino platform as a microcontroller to read the voltage and current from sensors and then wirelessly send the measured data to monitor the results using a new Android application. The integrated SVCMS design uses an Arduino Nano V3.0 as the microcontroller to measure the results from three voltage and three current sensors and then send this data, after calculation, to the Android smartphone device of an end user using Bluetooth HC-05. The Arduino Nano V3.0 controller and Bluetooth HC-05 are a cheap microcontroller and wireless device, respectively. The new Android smartphone application that monitors the voltage and current measurements uses the open source MIT App Inventor 2 software. It allows for monitoring some elementary fundamental voltage power quality properties. An effort has been made to investigate what is possible using available off-the-shelf components and open source software. PMID:28420132

Communication Between Infectious Disease Physicians and US State and Local Public Health Agencies

PubMed Central

Polgreen, Philip M.; Beekmann, Susan E.; Cairns, Catherine; Filice, Gregory A.; Layton, Marcelle; Hughes, James M.

2016-01-01

Strong working relationships between infectious disease (ID) physicians and public health have resulted in the early detection of emerging infectious threats. From May 6 through June 5, 2015, we surveyed ID physicians in the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s Emerging Infections Network about communications with public health. A total of 688 of 1491 (46%) members completed the survey, 624 (91%) of whom knew how to reach their health department directly for an urgent issue. Only 38 (6%) described communications with their health department as poor. Interest in newer technologies (eg, mobile smartphone applications) showed mixed results. Interest in a smartphone application differed significantly by years of ID experience, with 81 of 146 (55%) respondents with <5 years of ID experience, 172 of 359 (48%) respondents with 5 to 24 years of ID experience, and 61 of 183 (33%) respondents with ≥25 years of ID experience in favor of a smartphone application (P < .001). As more physicians adopt newer communication technologies, health departments should be prepared to incorporate these tools to communicate with ID physicians. PMID:28123206

Smartphone application for emergency signal detection.

PubMed

Figueiredo, Isabel N; Leal, Carlos; Pinto, Luís; Bolito, Jason; Lemos, André

2016-09-01

Currently, a number of studies focus on the study and design of new healthcare technologies to improve elderly health and quality of life. Taking advantage of the popularity, portability, and inherent technology of smartphones, we present an emergency application for smartphones, designated as knock-to-panic (KTP). This innovative and novel system enables users to simply hit their devices in order to send an alarm signal to an emergency service. This application is a complete and autonomous emergency system, and can provide an economic, reliable, and unobtrusive method for elderly monitoring or safety protection. Moreover, the simple and fast activation of KTP makes it a viable and potentially superior alternative to traditional ambient assisted living emergency calls. Furthermore, KTP can be further extended to the general population as well and not just be limited for elderly persons. The proposed method is a threshold-based algorithm and is designed to require a low battery power consumption. The evaluation of the performance of the algorithm in collected data indicates that both sensitivity and specificity are above 90%. Copyright © 2016 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Communication Between Infectious Disease Physicians and US State and Local Public Health Agencies: Strengths, Challenges, and Opportunities.

PubMed

Santibañez, Scott; Polgreen, Philip M; Beekmann, Susan E; Cairns, Catherine; Filice, Gregory A; Layton, Marcelle; Hughes, James M

2016-09-01

Strong working relationships between infectious disease (ID) physicians and public health have resulted in the early detection of emerging infectious threats. From May 6 through June 5, 2015, we surveyed ID physicians in the Infectious Diseases Society of America's Emerging Infections Network about communications with public health. A total of 688 of 1491 (46%) members completed the survey, 624 (91%) of whom knew how to reach their health department directly for an urgent issue. Only 38 (6%) described communications with their health department as poor. Interest in newer technologies (eg, mobile smartphone applications) showed mixed results. Interest in a smartphone application differed significantly by years of ID experience, with 81 of 146 (55%) respondents with <5 years of ID experience, 172 of 359 (48%) respondents with 5 to 24 years of ID experience, and 61 of 183 (33%) respondents with ≥25 years of ID experience in favor of a smartphone application ( P < .001). As more physicians adopt newer communication technologies, health departments should be prepared to incorporate these tools to communicate with ID physicians.

A Smart Voltage and Current Monitoring System for Three Phase Inverters Using an Android Smartphone Application.

PubMed

Mnati, Mohannad Jabbar; Van den Bossche, Alex; Chisab, Raad Farhood

2017-04-15

In this paper, a new smart voltage and current monitoring system (SVCMS) technique is proposed. It monitors a three phase electrical system using an Arduino platform as a microcontroller to read the voltage and current from sensors and then wirelessly send the measured data to monitor the results using a new Android application. The integrated SVCMS design uses an Arduino Nano V3.0 as the microcontroller to measure the results from three voltage and three current sensors and then send this data, after calculation, to the Android smartphone device of an end user using Bluetooth HC-05. The Arduino Nano V3.0 controller and Bluetooth HC-05 are a cheap microcontroller and wireless device, respectively. The new Android smartphone application that monitors the voltage and current measurements uses the open source MIT App Inventor 2 software. It allows for monitoring some elementary fundamental voltage power quality properties. An effort has been made to investigate what is possible using available off-the-shelf components and open source software.

Smartphone Apps for Mindfulness Interventions for Suicidality in Asian Youths: Literature Review.

PubMed

Choo, Carol C; Burton, André Ad

2018-06-07

The advent of mobile technology has ushered in an era in which smartphone apps can be used as interventions for suicidality. We aimed to review recent research that is relevant to smartphone apps that can be used for mindfulness interventions for suicidality in Asian youths. The inclusion criteria for this review were: papers published in peer-reviewed journals from 2007 to 2017 with usage of search terms (namely "smartphone application" and "mindfulness") and screened by an experienced Asian clinician to be of clinical utility for mindfulness interventions for suicidality with Asian youths. The initial search of databases yielded 375 results. Fourteen full text papers that fit the inclusion criteria were assessed for eligibility and 10 papers were included in the current review. This review highlighted the paucity of evidence-based and empirically validated research into effective smartphone apps that can be used for mindfulness interventions for suicidality with Asian youths. ©Carol C Choo, André AD Burton. Originally published in JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth (http://mhealth.jmir.org), 07.06.2018.

Dietary self-monitoring, but not dietary quality, improves with use of smartphone app technology in an 8-week weight loss trial.

PubMed

Wharton, Christopher M; Johnston, Carol S; Cunningham, Barbara K; Sterner, Danielle

2014-01-01

Dietary self-monitoring is linked to improved weight loss success. Mobile technologies, such as smartphone applications (apps), might allow for improved dietary tracking adherence. The authors assessed the use of a popular smartphone app for dietary self-monitoring and weight loss by comparing it with traditional diet counseling and entry methods. Diet tracking and weight loss were compared across participants during an 8-week weight loss trial. Participants tracked intake using 1 of 3 methods: the mobile app "Lose It!", the memo feature on a smartphone, or a traditional paper-and-pencil method. App users (n = 19) recorded dietary data more consistently compared with the paper-and-pencil group (n = 15; P = .042) but not the memo group (n = 13). All groups lost weight over the course of the study (P = .001), and no difference in weight loss was noted between groups. Smartphone apps could represent a novel and feasible dietary self-monitoring method for individuals. Copyright © 2014 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

On the Capability of Smartphones to Perform as Communication Gateways in Medical Wireless Personal Area Networks

PubMed Central

Morón, María José; Luque, Rafael; Casilari, Eduardo

2014-01-01

This paper evaluates and characterizes the technical performance of medical wireless personal area networks (WPANs) that are based on smartphones. For this purpose, a prototype of a health telemonitoring system is presented. The prototype incorporates a commercial Android smartphone, which acts as a relay point, or “gateway”, between a set of wireless medical sensors and a data server. Additionally, the paper investigates if the conventional capabilities of current commercial smartphones can be affected by their use as gateways or “Holters” in health monitoring applications. Specifically, the profiling has focused on the CPU and power consumption of the mobile devices. These metrics have been measured under several test conditions modifying the smartphone model, the type of sensors connected to the WPAN, the employed Bluetooth profile (SPP (serial port profile) or HDP (health device profile)), the use of other peripherals, such as a GPS receiver, the impact of the use of the Wi-Fi interface or the employed method to encode and forward the data that are collected from the sensors. PMID:24451456

On the capability of smartphones to perform as communication gateways in medical wireless personal area networks.

PubMed

Morón, María José; Luque, Rafael; Casilari, Eduardo

2014-01-02

This paper evaluates and characterizes the technical performance of medical wireless personal area networks (WPANs) that are based on smartphones. For this purpose,a prototype of a health telemonitoring system is presented. The prototype incorporates a commercial Android smartphone, which acts as a relay point, or "gateway", between a set of wireless medical sensors and a data server. Additionally, the paper investigates if the conventional capabilities of current commercial smartphones can be affected by their use as gateways or "Holters" in health monitoring applications. Specifically, the profiling has focused on the CPU and power consumption of the mobile devices. These metrics have been measured under several test conditions modifying the smartphone model, the type of sensors connected to the WPAN, the employed Bluetooth profile (SPP (serial port profile) orHDP (health device profile)), the use of other peripherals, such as a GPS receiver, the impact of the use of the Wi-Fi interface or the employed method to encode and forward the data that are collected from the sensors.

Who Sits Where? Infrastructure-Free In-Vehicle Cooperative Positioning via Smartphones

PubMed Central

He, Zongjian; Cao, Jiannong; Liu, Xuefeng; Tang, Shaojie

2014-01-01

Seat-level positioning of a smartphone in a vehicle can provide a fine-grained context for many interesting in-vehicle applications, including driver distraction prevention, driving behavior estimation, in-vehicle services customization, etc. However, most of the existing work on in-vehicle positioning relies on special infrastructures, such as the stereo, cigarette lighter adapter or OBD (on-board diagnostic) adapter. In this work, we propose iLoc, an infrastructure-free, in-vehicle, cooperative positioning system via smartphones. iLoc does not require any extra devices and uses only embedded sensors in smartphones to determine the phones' seat-level locations in a car. In iLoc, in-vehicle smartphones automatically collect data during certain kinds of events and cooperatively determine the relative left/right and front/back locations. In addition, iLoc is tolerant to noisy data and possible sensor errors. We evaluate the performance of iLoc using experiments conducted in real driving scenarios. Results show that the positioning accuracy can reach 90% in the majority of cases and around 70% even in the worst-cases. PMID:24984062

Development of a Metal Detector for Smartphones and Its Use in the Teaching Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sobral, Geraldo A.

2018-01-01

In this article, we describe how to develop an inductive metal detector that can be integrated to any Android or iOS smartphone with a standard audio port at low cost. The results indicate the metal detector can be used in the physics teaching laboratory as a practical application of principles of electromagnetism. It allows one to differentiate…

Concerns about usage of smartphones in operating room and critical care scenario

PubMed Central

Attri, JP; Khetarpal, R; Chatrath, V; Kaur, J

2016-01-01

Smartphones and tablets have taken a central place in the lives of health care professionals. Their use has dramatically improved the communication and has become an important learning tool as the medical information can be assessed online at anytime. In critical care settings, use of smartphone facilitates quick passage of information through E-mail messaging and getting feedback from the concerned physician quickly, thereby reducing medical errors. However, in addition to the benefits offered, these devices have become a significant source of nosocomial infections, distraction for medical professionals and interfere with medical equipments. They may also put privacy and security of patients at stake. The benefits could be severely undermined if abuse and over use are not kept in check. This review article focuses on various applications of smartphones in healthcare practices, drawback of the use of these devices and the recommendations regarding the safe use of these devices. PMID:26952181

Concerns about usage of smartphones in operating room and critical care scenario.

PubMed

Attri, J P; Khetarpal, R; Chatrath, V; Kaur, J

2016-01-01

Smartphones and tablets have taken a central place in the lives of health care professionals. Their use has dramatically improved the communication and has become an important learning tool as the medical information can be assessed online at anytime. In critical care settings, use of smartphone facilitates quick passage of information through E-mail messaging and getting feedback from the concerned physician quickly, thereby reducing medical errors. However, in addition to the benefits offered, these devices have become a significant source of nosocomial infections, distraction for medical professionals and interfere with medical equipments. They may also put privacy and security of patients at stake. The benefits could be severely undermined if abuse and over use are not kept in check. This review article focuses on various applications of smartphones in healthcare practices, drawback of the use of these devices and the recommendations regarding the safe use of these devices.

Digital diffraction analysis enables low-cost molecular diagnostics on a smartphone

PubMed Central

Im, Hyungsoon; Castro, Cesar M.; Shao, Huilin; Liong, Monty; Song, Jun; Pathania, Divya; Fexon, Lioubov; Min, Changwook; Avila-Wallace, Maria; Zurkiya, Omar; Rho, Junsung; Magaoay, Brady; Tambouret, Rosemary H.; Pivovarov, Misha; Weissleder, Ralph; Lee, Hakho

2015-01-01

The widespread distribution of smartphones, with their integrated sensors and communication capabilities, makes them an ideal platform for point-of-care (POC) diagnosis, especially in resource-limited settings. Molecular diagnostics, however, have been difficult to implement in smartphones. We herein report a diffraction-based approach that enables molecular and cellular diagnostics. The D3 (digital diffraction diagnosis) system uses microbeads to generate unique diffraction patterns which can be acquired by smartphones and processed by a remote server. We applied the D3 platform to screen for precancerous or cancerous cells in cervical specimens and to detect human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA. The D3 assay generated readouts within 45 min and showed excellent agreement with gold-standard pathology or HPV testing, respectively. This approach could have favorable global health applications where medical access is limited or when pathology bottlenecks challenge prompt diagnostic readouts. PMID:25870273

SUPAR: Smartphone as a ubiquitous physical activity recognizer for u-healthcare services.

PubMed

Fahim, Muhammad; Lee, Sungyoung; Yoon, Yongik

2014-01-01

Current generation smartphone can be seen as one of the most ubiquitous device for physical activity recognition. In this paper we proposed a physical activity recognizer to provide u-healthcare services in a cost effective manner by utilizing cloud computing infrastructure. Our model is comprised on embedded triaxial accelerometer of the smartphone to sense the body movements and a cloud server to store and process the sensory data for numerous kind of services. We compute the time and frequency domain features over the raw signals and evaluate different machine learning algorithms to identify an accurate activity recognition model for four kinds of physical activities (i.e., walking, running, cycling and hopping). During our experiments we found Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm outperforms for the aforementioned physical activities as compared to its counterparts. Furthermore, we also explain how smartphone application and cloud server communicate with each other.

Smartphone schlieren and shadowgraph imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Settles, Gary S.

2018-05-01

Schlieren and shadowgraph techniques are used throughout the realm of scientific experimentation to reveal transparent refractive phenomena, but the requirement of large precise optics has kept them mostly out of reach of the public. New developments, including the ubiquity of smartphones with high-resolution digital cameras and the Background-Oriented Schlieren technique (BOS), which replaces the precise optics with digital image processing, have changed these circumstances. This paper demonstrates a number of different schlieren and shadowgraph setups and image examples based only on a smartphone, its software applications, and some inexpensive accessories. After beginning with a simple traditional schlieren system the emphasis is placed on what can be visualized and measured using BOS and digital slit-scan imaging on the smartphone. Thermal plumes, liquid mixing and glass are used as subjects of investigation. Not only recreational and experimental photography, but also serious scientific imaging can be done.

Digital diffraction analysis enables low-cost molecular diagnostics on a smartphone.

PubMed

Im, Hyungsoon; Castro, Cesar M; Shao, Huilin; Liong, Monty; Song, Jun; Pathania, Divya; Fexon, Lioubov; Min, Changwook; Avila-Wallace, Maria; Zurkiya, Omar; Rho, Junsung; Magaoay, Brady; Tambouret, Rosemary H; Pivovarov, Misha; Weissleder, Ralph; Lee, Hakho

2015-05-05

The widespread distribution of smartphones, with their integrated sensors and communication capabilities, makes them an ideal platform for point-of-care (POC) diagnosis, especially in resource-limited settings. Molecular diagnostics, however, have been difficult to implement in smartphones. We herein report a diffraction-based approach that enables molecular and cellular diagnostics. The D3 (digital diffraction diagnosis) system uses microbeads to generate unique diffraction patterns which can be acquired by smartphones and processed by a remote server. We applied the D3 platform to screen for precancerous or cancerous cells in cervical specimens and to detect human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA. The D3 assay generated readouts within 45 min and showed excellent agreement with gold-standard pathology or HPV testing, respectively. This approach could have favorable global health applications where medical access is limited or when pathology bottlenecks challenge prompt diagnostic readouts.

Photoplethysmography Signal Analysis for Optimal Region-of-Interest Determination in Video Imaging on a Built-In Smartphone under Different Conditions.

PubMed

Nam, Yunyoung; Nam, Yun-Cheol

2017-10-19

Smartphones and tablets are widely used in medical fields, which can improve healthcare and reduce healthcare costs. Many medical applications for smartphones and tablets have already been developed and widely used by both health professionals and patients. Specifically, video recordings of fingertips made using a smartphone camera contain a pulsatile component caused by the cardiac pulse equivalent to that present in a photoplethysmographic signal. By performing peak detection on the pulsatile signal, it is possible to estimate a continuous heart rate and a respiratory rate. To estimate the heart rate and respiratory rate accurately, which pixel regions of the color bands give the most optimal signal quality should be investigated. In this paper, we investigate signal quality to determine the best signal quality by the largest amplitude values for three different smartphones under different conditions. We conducted several experiments to obtain reliable PPG signals and compared the PPG signal strength in the three color bands when the flashlight was both on and off. We also evaluated the intensity changes of PPG signals obtained from the smartphones with motion artifacts and fingertip pressure force. Furthermore, we have compared the PSNR of PPG signals of the full-size images with that of the region of interests (ROIs).

Smartphone-Based pH Sensor for Home Monitoring of Pulmonary Exacerbations in Cystic Fibrosis

PubMed Central

Sun, Alexander; Phelps, Tom; Yao, Chengyang; Venkatesh, A. G.; Conrad, Douglas; Hall, Drew A.

2017-01-01

Currently, Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients lack the ability to track their lung health at home, relying instead on doctor checkups leading to delayed treatment and lung damage. By leveraging the ubiquity of the smartphone to lower costs and increase portability, a smartphone-based peripheral pH measurement device was designed to attach directly to the headphone port to harvest power and communicate with a smartphone application. This platform was tested using prepared pH buffers and sputum samples from CF patients. The system matches within ~0.03 pH of a benchtop pH meter while fully powering itself and communicating with a Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone paired with either a glass or Iridium Oxide (IrOx) electrode. The IrOx electrodes were found to have 25% higher sensitivity than the glass probes at the expense of larger drift and matrix sensitivity that can be addressed with proper calibration. The smartphone-based platform has been demonstrated as a portable replacement for laboratory pH meters, and supports both highly robust glass probes and the sensitive and miniature IrOx electrodes with calibration. This tool can enable more frequent pH sputum tracking for CF patients to help detect the onset of pulmonary exacerbation to provide timely and appropriate treatment before serious damage occurs. PMID:28556804

Smartphone-Based pH Sensor for Home Monitoring of Pulmonary Exacerbations in Cystic Fibrosis.

PubMed

Sun, Alexander; Phelps, Tom; Yao, Chengyang; Venkatesh, A G; Conrad, Douglas; Hall, Drew A

2017-05-30

Currently, Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients lack the ability to track their lung health at home, relying instead on doctor checkups leading to delayed treatment and lung damage. By leveraging the ubiquity of the smartphone to lower costs and increase portability, a smartphone-based peripheral pH measurement device was designed to attach directly to the headphone port to harvest power and communicate with a smartphone application. This platform was tested using prepared pH buffers and sputum samples from CF patients. The system matches within ~0.03 pH of a benchtop pH meter while fully powering itself and communicating with a Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone paired with either a glass or Iridium Oxide (IrOx) electrode. The IrOx electrodes were found to have 25% higher sensitivity than the glass probes at the expense of larger drift and matrix sensitivity that can be addressed with proper calibration. The smartphone-based platform has been demonstrated as a portable replacement for laboratory pH meters, and supports both highly robust glass probes and the sensitive and miniature IrOx electrodes with calibration. This tool can enable more frequent pH sputum tracking for CF patients to help detect the onset of pulmonary exacerbation to provide timely and appropriate treatment before serious damage occurs.

Modelling of a collision between two smartphones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Jesus, V. L. B.; Sasaki, D. G. G.

2016-09-01

In the predominant approach in physics textbooks, the collision between particles is treated as a black box, where no physical quantity can be measured. This approach becomes even more evident in experimental classes where collisions are the simplest and most common way of applying the theorem of conservation of linear momentum in the asymptotic behavior. In this paper we develop and analyse an experiment on collisions using only two smartphones. The experimental setup is amazingly simple; the two devices are aligned on a horizontal table of lacquered wood, in order to slide more easily. At the edge of one of them a piece of common sponge is glued using double-sided tape. By using a free smartphone application, the values generated by the accelerometer of the two devices in full motion are measured and tabulated. Through numerical iteration, the speed graphs of the smartphones before, during, and after the collision are obtained. The main conclusions were: (i) the demonstration of the feasibility of using smartphones as an alternative to air tracks and electronic sensors employed in a teaching lab, (ii) the possibility of investigating the collision itself, its characteristics and effects; this is the great advantage of the use of smartphones over traditional experiments, (iii) the compatibility of the results with the impulse-momentum theorem, within the margin of uncertainty.

Research on multi-parameter monitoring of steel frame shaking-table test using smartphone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Ruicong; Loh, Kenneth J.; Zhao, Xuefeng; Yu, Yan

2017-04-01

The numerical simulation promises an effective method to assess seismic damage of high-rise structure. But it's difficult to determine the input parameters and the simulation results are not completely consistent with the real condition. A more direct approach to evaluate the seismic damage is the structural health monitoring (SHM), which is one complex set of various kinds of sensors, devices and software, and always needs professionals. SHM system has achieved great development over recent years, especially on bridge structures. However it's not so popular on high-rise building due to its difficult implementation. Developing a low-cost and convenient monitoring technique will be helpful for the safety maintenance of high-rise building. Smartphones, which embedded with sensors, network transmission, data storage and processing system, are evolving towards crowdsourcing. The popularity of smartphones presents opportunities for implementation of portable SHM system on buildings. In this paper, multi-parameter monitoring of a three-story steel frame on shaking table under earthquake excitations was conducted with smartphone, and the comparison between smartphone and traditional sensors was provided. First, the monitoring applications on iOS platform, Orion-CC and D-viewer, were introduced. Then the experimental details were presented, including three-story frame model, sensors placement, viscous dampers and so on. Last, the acceleration and displacement time-history curves of smartphone and traditional sensors are provided and compared to prove the feasibility of the monitoring on frame under earthquake excitations by smartphone.

Optical tests for using smartphones inside medical devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernat, Amir S.; Acobas, Jennifer K.; Phang, Ye Shang; Hassan, David; Bolton, Frank J.; Levitz, David

2018-02-01

Smartphones are currently used in many medical applications and are more frequently being integrated into medical imaging devices. The regulatory requirements in existence today however, particularly the standardization of smartphone imaging through validation and verification testing, only partially cover imaging characteristics with a smartphone. Specifically, it has been shown that smartphone camera specifications are of sufficient quality for medical imaging, and there are devices which comply with the FDA's regulatory requirements for a medical device such as a device's field of view, direction of viewing and optical resolution and optical distortion. However, these regulatory requirements do not call specifically for color testing. Images of the same object using automatic settings or different light sources can show different color composition. Experimental results showing such differences are presented. Under some circumstances, such differences in color composition could potentially lead to incorrect diagnoses. It is therefore critical to control the smartphone camera and illumination parameters properly. This paper examines different smartphone camera settings that affect image quality and color composition. To test and select the correct settings, a test methodology is proposed. It aims at evaluating and testing image color correctness and white balance settings for mobile phones and LED light sources. Emphasis is placed on color consistency and deviation from gray values, specifically by evaluating the ΔC values based on the CIEL*a*b* color space. Results show that such standardization minimizes differences in color composition and thus could reduce the risk of a wrong diagnosis.

Smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment for Chinese patients with depression: An exploratory study in Taiwan.

PubMed

Hung, Shan; Li, Min-Shan; Chen, Yen-Lin; Chiang, Jung-Hsien; Chen, Ying-Yeh; Hung, Galen Chin-Lun

2016-10-01

Mobile mental health has a potential to improve the recognition and management of Chinese patients with depression. Currently, evidence regarding ecological momentary assessment (EMA) for depressive disorder mostly originates from Western studies. Herein, we examined the validity of smartphone-based EMA for depression in Chinese patients and explored the determinants of use. A smartphone application, iHOPE, was used to perform daily EMA of depression, anxiety, sleep and cognitive performance. Outpatients with depressive disorder were recruited to use iHOPE for 8 weeks. Clinical characteristics and smartphone use patterns were assessed at baseline. We enrolled 59 Chinese patients with depression. In 8 weeks, participants interacted with iHOPE for an average of 10.8 (SD=12.3) days; a trend of decreased frequency of use (p=0.03) was observed. Scores of HAM-D at baseline was associated with, of the first 2 weeks, scores of PHQ-9 (p=0.005), EMA of depression (p=0.003) and anxiety (p<0.001), and poorer sleep quality (p=0.023). Among the demographic, clinical and smartphone-use variables examined, only limited internet package for smartphone (<500M per month) predicted higher use of iHOPE (p=0.04). The present study provides initial evidence for the feasibility of smartphone-based EMA in Chinese patients with depression. Level of engagement needs to be improved before determining its clinical usefulness. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

How smartphone usage correlates with social anxiety and loneliness

PubMed Central

Liu, Xiaoqian; Liu, Xingyun

2016-01-01

Introduction: Early detection of social anxiety and loneliness might be useful to prevent substantial impairment in personal relationships. Understanding the way people use smartphones can be beneficial for implementing an early detection of social anxiety and loneliness. This paper examines different types of smartphone usage and their relationships with people with different individual levels of social anxiety or loneliness. Methods: A total of 127 Android smartphone volunteers participated in this study, all of which have agreed to install an application (MobileSens) on their smartphones, which can record user’s smartphone usage behaviors and upload the data into the server. They were instructed to complete an online survey, including the Interaction Anxiousness Scale (IAS) and the University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS). We then separated participants into three groups (high, middle and low) based on their scores of IAS and UCLA-LS, respectively. Finally, we acquired digital records of smartphone usage from MobileSens and examined the differences in 105 types of smartphone usage behaviors between high-score and low-score group of IAS/UCLA-LS. Results: Individuals with different scores on social anxiety or loneliness might use smartphones in different ways. For social anxiety, compared with users in low-score group, users in high-score group had less number of phone calls (incoming and outgoing) (Mann-Whitney U = 282.50∼409.00, p < 0.05), sent and received less number of text messages in the afternoon (Mann-Whitney U = 391.50∼411.50, p < 0.05), used health & fitness apps more frequently (Mann-Whitney U = 493.00, p < 0.05) and used camera apps less frequently (Mann-Whitney U = 472.00, p < 0.05). For loneliness, users in low-score group, users in high-score group had less number of phone calls (incoming and outgoing) (Mann-Whitney U = 305.00∼407.50, p < 0.05) and used following apps more frequently: health & fitness (Mann-Whitney U = 510.00, p < 0.05), system (Mann-Whitney U = 314.00, p < 0.01), phone beautify (Mann-Whitney U = 385.00, p < 0.05), web browser (Mann-Whitney U = 416.00, p < 0.05) and social media (RenRen) (Mann-Whitney >U = 388.50, p < 0.01). Discussion: The results show that individuals with social anxiety or loneliness receive less incoming calls and use healthy applications more frequently, but they do not show differences in outgoing-call-related features. Individuals with higher levels of social anxiety also receive less SMSs and use camera apps less frequently, while lonely individuals tend to use system, beautify, browser and social media (RenRen) apps more frequently. Conclusion: This paper finds that there exists certain correlation among smartphone usage and social anxiety and loneliness. The result may be useful to improve social interaction for those who lack social interaction in daily lives and may be insightful for recognizing individual levels of social anxiety and loneliness through smartphone usage behaviors. PMID:27478700

How smartphone usage correlates with social anxiety and loneliness.

PubMed

Gao, Yusong; Li, Ang; Zhu, Tingshao; Liu, Xiaoqian; Liu, Xingyun

2016-01-01

Early detection of social anxiety and loneliness might be useful to prevent substantial impairment in personal relationships. Understanding the way people use smartphones can be beneficial for implementing an early detection of social anxiety and loneliness. This paper examines different types of smartphone usage and their relationships with people with different individual levels of social anxiety or loneliness. A total of 127 Android smartphone volunteers participated in this study, all of which have agreed to install an application (MobileSens) on their smartphones, which can record user's smartphone usage behaviors and upload the data into the server. They were instructed to complete an online survey, including the Interaction Anxiousness Scale (IAS) and the University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS). We then separated participants into three groups (high, middle and low) based on their scores of IAS and UCLA-LS, respectively. Finally, we acquired digital records of smartphone usage from MobileSens and examined the differences in 105 types of smartphone usage behaviors between high-score and low-score group of IAS/UCLA-LS. Individuals with different scores on social anxiety or loneliness might use smartphones in different ways. For social anxiety, compared with users in low-score group, users in high-score group had less number of phone calls (incoming and outgoing) (Mann-Whitney U = 282.50∼409.00, p < 0.05), sent and received less number of text messages in the afternoon (Mann-Whitney U = 391.50∼411.50, p < 0.05), used health & fitness apps more frequently (Mann-Whitney U = 493.00, p < 0.05) and used camera apps less frequently (Mann-Whitney U = 472.00, p < 0.05). For loneliness, users in low-score group, users in high-score group had less number of phone calls (incoming and outgoing) (Mann-Whitney U = 305.00∼407.50, p < 0.05) and used following apps more frequently: health & fitness (Mann-Whitney U = 510.00, p < 0.05), system (Mann-Whitney U = 314.00, p < 0.01), phone beautify (Mann-Whitney U = 385.00, p < 0.05), web browser (Mann-Whitney U = 416.00, p < 0.05) and social media (RenRen) (Mann-Whitney >U = 388.50, p < 0.01). The results show that individuals with social anxiety or loneliness receive less incoming calls and use healthy applications more frequently, but they do not show differences in outgoing-call-related features. Individuals with higher levels of social anxiety also receive less SMSs and use camera apps less frequently, while lonely individuals tend to use system, beautify, browser and social media (RenRen) apps more frequently. This paper finds that there exists certain correlation among smartphone usage and social anxiety and loneliness. The result may be useful to improve social interaction for those who lack social interaction in daily lives and may be insightful for recognizing individual levels of social anxiety and loneliness through smartphone usage behaviors.

Smartphones for Geological Data Collection- an Android Phone Application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, F.; Weng, Y.; Grigsby, J. D.

2010-12-01

Recently, smartphones have attracted great attention in the wireless device market because of their powerful processors, ample memory capacity, advanced connectivity, and numerous utility programs. Considering the prominent new features a smartphone has, such as the large touch screen, speaker, microphone, camera, GPS receiver, accelerometer, and Internet connections, it can serve as a perfect digital aide for data recording on any geological field trip. We have designed and developed an application by using aforementioned features in an Android phone to provide functionalities used in field studies. For example, employing the accelerometer in the Android phone, the application turns the handset into a brunton-like device by which users can measure directions, strike and dip of a bedding plane or trend and plunge of a fold. Our application also includes functionalities of image taking, GPS coordinates tracking, videotaping, audio recording, and note writing. Data recorded from the application are tied together by the time log, which makes the task easy to track all data regarding a specific geologic object. The application pulls the GPS reading from the phone’s built-in GPS receiver and uses it as a spatial index to link up the other type of data, then maps them to the Google Maps/Earth for visualization. In this way, notes, pictures, audio or video recordings to depict the characteristics of the outcrops and their spatial relations, all can be well documented and organized in one handy gadget.

Factor Structure Evaluation of the French Version of the Digital Natives Assessment Scale.

PubMed

Wagner, Vincent; Acier, Didier

2017-03-01

"Digital natives" concept defines young adults particularly familiar with emerging technologies such as computers, smartphones, or Internet. This notion is still controversial and so far, the primary identifying criterion was to consider their date of birth. However, literature highlighted the need to describe specific characteristics. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the factor structure of a French version of the Digital Natives Assessment Scale (DNAS). The sample of this study includes 590 participants from a 6-week massive open online course and from Web sites, electronic forums, and social networks. The DNAS was translated in French and then back-translated to English. A principal component analysis with orthogonal rotation followed by a confirmatory factorial analysis showed that a 15-item four-correlated component model provided the best fit for the data of our sample. Factor structure of this French-translated version of the DNAS was rather similar than those found in earlier studies. This study provides evidence of the DNAS robustness through cross-cultural and cross-generational validation. The French version of the DNAS appears to be appropriate as a quick and effective questionnaire to assess digital natives. More studies are needed to better define further features of this particular group.

Re-usable electrochemical glucose sensors integrated into a smartphone platform.

PubMed

Bandodkar, Amay J; Imani, Somayeh; Nuñez-Flores, Rogelio; Kumar, Rajan; Wang, Chiyi; Mohan, A M Vinu; Wang, Joseph; Mercier, Patrick P

2018-03-15

This article demonstrates a new smartphone-based reusable glucose meter. The glucose meter includes a custom-built smartphone case that houses a permanent bare sensor strip, a stylus that is loaded with enzyme-carbon composite pellets, and sensor instrumentation circuits. A custom-designed Android-based software application was developed to enable easy and clear display of measured glucose concentration. A typical test involves the user loading the software, using the stylus to dispense an enzymatic pellet on top of the bare sensor strip affixed to the case, and then introducing the sample. The electronic module then acquires and wirelessly transmits the data to the application software to be displayed on the screen. The deployed pellet is then discarded to regain the fresh bare sensor surface. Such a unique working principle allows the system to overcome challenges faced by previously reported reusable sensors, such as enzyme degradation, leaching, and hysteresis effects. Studies reveal that the enzyme loaded in the pellets are stable for up to 8 months at ambient conditions, and generate reproducible sensor signals. The work illustrates the significance of the pellet-based sensing system towards realizing a reusable, point-of-care sensor that snugly fits around a smartphone and which does not face issues usually common to reusable sensors. The versatility of this system allows it to be easily modified to detect other analytes for application in a wide range of healthcare, environmental and defense domains. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Smartphones Based Mobile Mapping Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Hamad, A.; El-Sheimy, N.

2014-06-01

The past 20 years have witnessed an explosive growth in the demand for geo-spatial data. This demand has numerous sources and takes many forms; however, the net effect is an ever-increasing thirst for data that is more accurate, has higher density, is produced more rapidly, and is acquired less expensively. For mapping and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) projects, this has been achieved through the major development of Mobile Mapping Systems (MMS). MMS integrate various navigation and remote sensing technologies which allow mapping from moving platforms (e.g. cars, airplanes, boats, etc.) to obtain the 3D coordinates of the points of interest. Such systems obtain accuracies that are suitable for all but the most demanding mapping and engineering applications. However, this accuracy doesn't come cheaply. As a consequence of the platform and navigation and mapping technologies used, even an "inexpensive" system costs well over 200 000 USD. Today's mobile phones are getting ever more sophisticated. Phone makers are determined to reduce the gap between computers and mobile phones. Smartphones, in addition to becoming status symbols, are increasingly being equipped with extended Global Positioning System (GPS) capabilities, Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) inertial sensors, extremely powerful computing power and very high resolution cameras. Using all of these components, smartphones have the potential to replace the traditional land MMS and portable GPS/GIS equipment. This paper introduces an innovative application of smartphones as a very low cost portable MMS for mapping and GIS applications.

Smartphone and medical related App use among medical students and junior doctors in the United Kingdom (UK): a regional survey

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Smartphone usage has spread to many settings including that of healthcare with numerous potential and realised benefits. The ability to download custom-built software applications (apps) has created a new wealth of clinical resources available to healthcare staff, providing evidence-based decisional tools to reduce medical errors. Previous literature has examined how smartphones can be utilised by both medical student and doctor populations, to enhance educational and workplace activities, with the potential to improve overall patient care. However, this literature has not examined smartphone acceptance and patterns of medical app usage within the student and junior doctor populations. Methods An online survey of medical student and foundation level junior doctor cohorts was undertaken within one United Kingdom healthcare region. Participants were asked whether they owned a Smartphone and if they used apps on their Smartphones to support their education and practice activities. Frequency of use and type of app used was also investigated. Open response questions explored participants’ views on apps that were desired or recommended and the characteristics of apps that were useful. Results 257 medical students and 131 junior doctors responded, equating to a response rate of 15.0% and 21.8% respectively. 79.0% (n=203/257) of medical students and 74.8% (n=98/131) of junior doctors owned a smartphone, with 56.6% (n=115/203) of students and 68.4% (n=67/98) of doctors owning an iPhone. The majority of students and doctors owned 1–5 medical related applications, with very few owning more than 10, and iPhone owners significantly more likely to own apps (Chi sq, p<0.001). Both populations showed similar trends of app usage of several times a day. Over 24hours apps were used for between 1–30 minutes for students and 1–20 minutes for doctors, students used disease diagnosis/management and drug reference apps, with doctors favouring clinical score/calculator apps. Conclusions This study found a high level of smartphone ownership and usage among medical students and junior doctors. Both groups endorse the development of more apps to support their education and clinical practice. PMID:23110712

Using smartphone batteries as an urban thermometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Droste, Arjan; Pape, Jan-Jaap; Overeem, Aart; Leijnse, Hidde; Steeneveld, Gert-Jan; Van Delden, Aarnout; Uijlenhoet, Remko

2017-04-01

Taking meteorological measurements in the urban environment is notoriously difficult due to the complex geometry at street and neighbourhood level. Traditional weather stations are absent in cities because of WMO regulations, so urban data has to come from typically expensive measurement-networks, or short intensive campaigns. While traditional measurements are scarce, there is an abundance of smart devices in cities: the well-known Internet of Things. It is for these reasons that crowdsourcing data has an enormous potential in cities, to deliver vast quantities of data without the maintenance costs of a measurement network. A promising source of potentially valuable data is the smartphone, because of its ubiquity and the many sensors most newer phone models now possess. Since most people nowadays have a smartphone, and carry it around wherever they go, data logged by the phone can be used to estimate the urban air temperature. A persistent log taken by nearly all smartphone models, even those without air temperature sensors, is the smartphone's battery temperature. The free OpenSignal smartphone application logs this battery temperature (among many other variables) and the position of the smartphone, which makes it possible to estimate the urban air temperature through a straightforward heat transfer model relating battery temperature to air and body temperature. The obtained urban temperatures are accurate within 1 to 2 degrees of certified measurement stations, proving the huge potential of this innovative method. This poster focuses on describing how thousands of daily smartphone battery temperature measurements can be translated to a relatively robust estimation of an urban air temperature, using 2 years of data from São Paulo in Brazil. Analysis of the results is presented in a separate session.

Direction-sensitive smart monitoring of structures using heterogeneous smartphone sensor data and coordinate system transformation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ozer, Ekin; Feng, Maria Q.

2017-04-01

Mobile, heterogeneous, and smart sensor networks produce pervasive structural health monitoring (SHM) information. With various embedded sensors, smartphones have emerged to innovate SHM by empowering citizens to serve as sensors. By default, smartphones meet the fundamental smart sensor criteria, thanks to the built-in processor, memory, wireless communication units and mobile operating system. SHM using smartphones, however, faces technical challenges due to citizen-induced uncertainties, undesired sensor-structure integration, and lack of control over the sensing platform. Previously, the authors presented successful applications of smartphone accelerometers for structural vibration measurement and proposed a monitoring framework under citizen-induced spatiotemporal uncertainties. This study aims at extending the capabilities of smartphone-based SHM with a special focus on the lack of control over the sensor (i.e., the phone) positioning by citizens resulting in unknown sensor orientations. Using smartphone gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometer; instantaneous sensor orientation can be obtained with respect to gravitational and magnetic north directions. Using these sensor data, mobile operating system frameworks return processed features such as attitude and heading that can be used to correct misaligned sensor signals. For this purpose, a coordinate transformation procedure is proposed and illustrated on a two-story laboratory structural model and real-scale bridges with various sensor positioning examples. The proposed method corrects the sensor signals by tracking their orientations and improves measurement accuracy. Moreover, knowing structure’s coordinate system a priori, even the data from arbitrarily positioned sensors can automatically be transformed to the structural coordinates. In addition, this paper also touches some secondary mobile and heterogeneous data issues including imperfect sampling and geolocation services. The coordinate system transformation methods proposed in this study can be implemented in other non-smartphone-based SHM systems as long as similar instrumentation is available.

Detection of heart rate and rhythm with a smartphone-based electrocardiograph versus a reference standard electrocardiograph in dogs and cats.

PubMed

Kraus, Marc S; Gelzer, Anna R; Rishniw, Mark

2016-07-15

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the diagnostic utility of ECGs acquired with a smartphone-based device, compared with reference 6-lead ECGs, for identification of heart rate and rhythm in dogs and cats. DESIGN Prospective study. ANIMALS 51 client-owned dogs and 27 client-owned cats. PROCEDURES Patients examined by a small animal referral cardiology service between April 2012 and January 2013 were enrolled consecutively. In each patient, a 30-second ECG was simultaneously acquired with a smartphone-based device (a bipolar, single-lead recorder coupled to a smartphone with an ECG application) and a standard 6-lead ECG machine. Recordings were evaluated by 3 board-certified cardiologists, and intra- and interobserver agreement were evaluated for both rhythm diagnosis and QRS polarity identification. RESULTS Values for instantaneous and mean heart rates for the smartphone-acquired and reference ECGs were within 1 beat of each other when mean heart rates were calculated. Intraobserver agreement for rhythm assessment was very high, with maximum disagreement for any observer for only 2 of 51 dogs and only 4 of 27 cats. There was minimal disagreement in the polarity of depolarization between the smartphone-acquired and reference ECGs in dogs but frequent disagreement in cats. Interobserver agreement for smartphone-acquired ECGs was similar to that for reference ECGs. with all 3 observers agreeing on the rhythm analysis and minimal disagreement on polarity. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results suggested that ECGs acquired with the smartphone-based device accurately identified heart rate and rhythm in dogs and cats. Thus, the device may allow veterinarians to evaluate and manage cardiac arrhythmias relatively inexpensively at the cage side and could also allow clinicians to rapidly share information via email for further consultation, potentially enhancing patient care.

[Smartphone application for blood gas interpretation].

PubMed

Obiols, Julien; Bardo, Pascale; Garnier, Jean-Pierre; Brouard, Benoît

2013-01-01

Ninety four per cent of health professionals use their smartphone for business purposes and more than 50% has medical applications. The «Blood Gas» application was created to be part of this dynamic and participate to e-health development in France. The «Blood Gas» application facilitates interpretation of the results of blood gas analysis using an algorithm developed with reference to a medical bibliography. It can detect some complex or intricate acid-base disorders in evaluating the effectiveness of the secondary response. The application also studied the respiratory status of the patient by calculating the PaO2/FiO2 ratio and the alveol-arterial gradient. It also indicates the presence of a shunt effect. Finally, a specific module to calculate the SID (strong ion difference) depending on the model of Stewart can detect complex acid-base disorders.

Smartphone application for unhealthy alcohol use: A pilot study.

PubMed

Bertholet, Nicolas; Daeppen, Jean-Bernard; McNeely, Jennifer; Kushnir, Vlad; Cunningham, John A

2017-01-01

Technology-delivered interventions are useful tools for addressing unhealthy alcohol use. Smartphones in particular offer opportunities to deliver interventions at the user's convenience. A smartphone application with 5 modules (personal feedback, self-monitoring of drinking, designated driver tool, blood alcohol content [BAC] calculator, information) was developed. Its acceptability and associations between use and drinking outcomes were assessed. One hundred thirty adults with unhealthy alcohol use (>14 [men]/>7 [women] drinks/week or ≥1 episode/month with 6 or more drinks) recruited in Switzerland (n = 70) and Canada (n = 60) were offered to use the application. Follow-up occurred after 3 months. Appreciation, usefulness, and self-reported frequency of use of the modules, and drinking outcomes (drinks/week, binge drinking) were assessed. Associations between application use and drinking at 3 months were evaluated with negative binomial and logistic regression models, adjusted for baseline values and gender. Of the participants, 48% were women, mean (SD) age: 32.8 (10.0). Follow-up rate: 86.2%. There were changes from baseline (BL) to follow-up (FU) in number of drinks/week, BL: 15.0 (16.5); FU: 10.9 (10.5), P = .01, and binge drinking, BL: 95.4%; FU: 64.3%, P < .0001. All modules had median ratings between 6 and 8 (scale of 1-10). Among the participants, 77% used the application, 76% used the personal feedback module, 41% the self-monitoring of drinking, 22% the designated driver tool, 53% the BAC calculator, and 31% the information module. Participants using the application more than once reported significantly fewer drinks/week at follow-up: Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR), number of drinks per week = 0.70 (0.51; 0.96). A smartphone application for unhealthy alcohol use appears acceptable and useful (although there is room for improvement). Without prompting, its use is infrequent. Those who used the application more than once reported less weekly drinking than those who did not. Efficacy of the application should be tested in a randomized trial with strategies to increase frequency of its use.

Smartphone interface to USGS 'Did You Feel It?' - Getting More Citizens Involved in Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savran, W. H.; Petersen, R. I.; Wukusick, M.

2013-12-01

Over the last hundred years, we have put forth a concerted effort to install a dense array of seismometers - used to monitor and measure seismic waves propagating through the earth. In addition to expensive instrumentation, citizens provide useful data to the earthquake science community as demonstrated by the USGS 'Did you feel it?' project. Currently, the 'Did You Feel It?' data is acquired, through an internet browser, from a long questionnaire. With the increasing number of smartphone owners, an application interfacing the population with the 'Did you feel it?' project introduces the next logical step in progressing this technology. We are developing an application, which utilizes many features of modern smartphones to provide a better interface from citizen to scientist. Our application will notify users of any earthquake within a predefined distance above a predefined size. At this point, the user has the option to answer the questionnaire and send their experience of the earthquake to the USGS 'Did you feel it?' database or simply decline. Instead of a cumbersome web-form, the user will be prompted for questions in line with the paradigm of current smartphone application development. An easy, interactive interface allows the user to answer the questions rapidly in a fun manner, resulting in more participation. In addition to putting earthquake science into the hands of many more citizens, the application will also allow the user to place an emergency call in case of casualty during the next big one. Future versions of the application will allow users to take, view, and submit photographs of damage caused by the earthquake. Also, users will be able to view intensity maps generated for the event they evaluated. The USGS has already done an incredible job setting up the 'Did you feel it?' framework; having a more accessible user interface to acquire data will greatly expand the possibilities of the 'Did you feel it?' project.

Software Authority Transition through Multiple Distributors

PubMed Central

Han, Kyusunk; Shon, Taeshik

2014-01-01

The rapid growth in the use of smartphones and tablets has changed the software distribution ecosystem. The trend today is to purchase software through application stores rather than from traditional offline markets. Smartphone and tablet users can install applications easily by purchasing from the online store deployed in their device. Several systems, such as Android or PC-based OS units, allow users to install software from multiple sources. Such openness, however, can promote serious threats, including malware and illegal usage. In order to prevent such threats, several stores use online authentication techniques. These methods can, however, also present a problem whereby even licensed users cannot use their purchased application. In this paper, we discuss these issues and provide an authentication method that will make purchased applications available to the registered user at all times. PMID:25143971

Software authority transition through multiple distributors.

PubMed

Han, Kyusunk; Shon, Taeshik

2014-01-01

The rapid growth in the use of smartphones and tablets has changed the software distribution ecosystem. The trend today is to purchase software through application stores rather than from traditional offline markets. Smartphone and tablet users can install applications easily by purchasing from the online store deployed in their device. Several systems, such as Android or PC-based OS units, allow users to install software from multiple sources. Such openness, however, can promote serious threats, including malware and illegal usage. In order to prevent such threats, several stores use online authentication techniques. These methods can, however, also present a problem whereby even licensed users cannot use their purchased application. In this paper, we discuss these issues and provide an authentication method that will make purchased applications available to the registered user at all times.

Pulse oximeter for cyclists in smartphone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martins, L.; Gaidos, O.; dos Santos, I.

2015-01-01

The monitoring of cyclists during physical activity is an important factor to improve their performance. We discuss a new approaches based on smartphone for monitoring physiological signal wirelessly for cyclists, using a pulse oximeter sensor attached to the rider's forehead. This paper presents a wireless pulse Oximeter that was developed with a Nellcor's module, which uses the Standard Host Interface Protocol (SHIP) for communication with the Bluetooth module and sends data for a Smartphone with Android O.S. Then these data are shown in the screen: the heartbeat and saturation percentage. The application was created with App Inventor and the data are sent to Google Maps via Twitter. The results demonstrate the possibility of developing a successful prototype.

Oscillations studied with the smartphone ambient light sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sans, J. A.; Manjón, F. J.; Pereira, A. L. J.; Gomez-Tejedor, J. A.; Monsoriu, J. A.

2013-11-01

This paper makes use of a smartphone's ambient light sensor to analyse a system of two coupled springs undergoing either simple or damped oscillatory motion. The period, frequency and stiffness of the spring, together with the damping constant and extinction time, are extracted from light intensity curves obtained using a free Android application. The results demonstrate the instructional value of mobile phone sensors as a tool in the physics laboratory.

Cold Environment Assessment Tool (CEAT) User’s Guide for Apple Mobile Devices

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-01

discussion of mobile Android device relevance to the military see, “Android Smartphone Relevance to Military Weather Applications”.5 2. CEAT Inputs To...eating, resting, sleeping , clerical work • Low: Walking, marching without rucksack, drill and ceremony • High: Digging foxhole, running, marching...2013. 5. Sauter, D. Android smartphone relevance to military weather applications. White Sands Missile Range (NM): Army Research Laboratory (US

Using a Smartphone Application to Promote Healthy Dietary Behaviours and Local Food Consumption

PubMed Central

Gilliland, Jason; Sadler, Richard; Clark, Andrew; O'Connor, Colleen; Milczarek, Malgorzata; Doherty, Sean

2015-01-01

Smartphone “apps” are a powerful tool for public health promotion, but unidimensional interventions have been ineffective at sustaining behavioural change. Various logistical issues exist in successful app development for health intervention programs and for sustaining behavioural change. This study reports on a smartphone application and messaging service, called “SmartAPPetite,” which uses validated behaviour change techniques and a behavioural economic approach to “nudge” users into healthy dietary behaviours. To help gauge participation in and influence of the program, data were collected using an upfront food survey, message uptake tracking, experience sampling interviews, and a follow-up survey. Logistical and content-based issues in the deployment of the messaging service were subsequently addressed to strengthen the effectiveness of the app in changing dietary behaviours. Challenges included creating relevant food goal categories for participants, providing messaging appropriate to self-reported food literacy and ensuring continued participation in the program. SmartAPPetite was effective at creating a sense of improved awareness and consumption of healthy foods, as well as drawing people to local food vendors with greater frequency. This work serves as a storehouse of methods and best practices for multidimensional local food-based smartphone interventions aimed at improving the “triple bottom line” of health, economy, and environment. PMID:26380298

The Accutension Stetho, an automated auscultatory device to validate automated sphygmomanometer readings in individual patients.

PubMed

Alpert, Bruce S

2018-04-06

The aim of this report is to describe a new device that can validate, by automated auscultation, individual blood pressure (BP) readings taken by automated sphygmomanometers.The Accutension Stetho utilizes a smartphone application in conjunction with a specially designed stethoscope that interfaces directly into the smartphone via the earphone jack. The Korotkoff sounds are recorded by the application and are analyzed by the operator on the screen of the smartphone simultaneously with the images from the sphygmomanometer screen during BP estimation. Current auscultatory validation standards require at least 85 subjects and strict statistical criteria for passage. A device that passes can make no guarantee of accuracy on individual patients. The Accutension Stetho is an inexpensive smartphone/stethoscope kit combination that estimates precise BP values by auscultation to confirm the accuracy of an automated sphygmomanometer's readings on individual patients. This should be of great value for both professional and, in certain circumstances, self-measurement BP. Patients will avoid both unnecessary treatment and errors of underestimation of BP, in which the patient requires therapy. The Stetho's software has been validated in an independent ANSI/AAMI/ISO standard study. The Stetho has been shown to perform without difficulty in multiple deflation-based devices by many manufacturers.

Using a Smartphone Application to Promote Healthy Dietary Behaviours and Local Food Consumption.

PubMed

Gilliland, Jason; Sadler, Richard; Clark, Andrew; O'Connor, Colleen; Milczarek, Malgorzata; Doherty, Sean

2015-01-01

Smartphone "apps" are a powerful tool for public health promotion, but unidimensional interventions have been ineffective at sustaining behavioural change. Various logistical issues exist in successful app development for health intervention programs and for sustaining behavioural change. This study reports on a smartphone application and messaging service, called "SmartAPPetite," which uses validated behaviour change techniques and a behavioural economic approach to "nudge" users into healthy dietary behaviours. To help gauge participation in and influence of the program, data were collected using an upfront food survey, message uptake tracking, experience sampling interviews, and a follow-up survey. Logistical and content-based issues in the deployment of the messaging service were subsequently addressed to strengthen the effectiveness of the app in changing dietary behaviours. Challenges included creating relevant food goal categories for participants, providing messaging appropriate to self-reported food literacy and ensuring continued participation in the program. SmartAPPetite was effective at creating a sense of improved awareness and consumption of healthy foods, as well as drawing people to local food vendors with greater frequency. This work serves as a storehouse of methods and best practices for multidimensional local food-based smartphone interventions aimed at improving the "triple bottom line" of health, economy, and environment.

Atrial Fibrillation Detection via Accelerometer and Gyroscope of a Smartphone.

PubMed

Lahdenoja, Olli; Hurnanen, Tero; Iftikhar, Zuhair; Nieminen, Sami; Knuutila, Timo; Saraste, Antti; Kiviniemi, Tuomas; Vasankari, Tuija; Airaksinen, Juhani; Pankaala, Mikko; Koivisto, Tero

2018-01-01

We present a smartphone-only solution for the detection of atrial fibrillation (AFib), which utilizes the built-in accelerometer and gyroscope sensors [inertial measurement unit, (IMU)] in the detection. Depending on the patient's situation, it is possible to use the developed smartphone application either regularly or occasionally for making a measurement of the subject. The smartphone is placed on the chest of the patient who is adviced to lay down and perform a noninvasive recording, while no external sensors are needed. After that, the application determines whether the patient suffers from AFib or not. The presented method has high potential to detect paroxysmal ("silent") AFib from large masses. In this paper, we present the preprocessing, feature extraction, feature analysis, and classification results of the envisioned AFib detection system based on clinical data acquired with a standard mobile phone equipped with Google Android OS. Test data was gathered from 16 AFib patients (validated against ECG), as well as a control group of 23 healthy individuals with no diagnosed heart diseases. We obtained an accuracy of 97.4% in AFib versus healthy classification (a sensitivity of 93.8% and a specificity of 100%). Due to the wide availability of smart devices/sensors with embedded IMU, the proposed methods could potentially also scale to other domains such as embedded body-sensor networks.

Plasmonics Enhanced Smartphone Fluorescence Microscopy.

PubMed

Wei, Qingshan; Acuna, Guillermo; Kim, Seungkyeum; Vietz, Carolin; Tseng, Derek; Chae, Jongjae; Shir, Daniel; Luo, Wei; Tinnefeld, Philip; Ozcan, Aydogan

2017-05-18

Smartphone fluorescence microscopy has various applications in point-of-care (POC) testing and diagnostics, ranging from e.g., quantification of immunoassays, detection of microorganisms, to sensing of viruses. An important need in smartphone-based microscopy and sensing techniques is to improve the detection sensitivity to enable quantification of extremely low concentrations of target molecules. Here, we demonstrate a general strategy to enhance the detection sensitivity of a smartphone-based fluorescence microscope by using surface-enhanced fluorescence (SEF) created by a thin metal-film. In this plasmonic design, the samples are placed on a silver-coated glass slide with a thin spacer, and excited by a laser-diode from the backside through a glass hemisphere, generating surface plasmon polaritons. We optimized this mobile SEF system by tuning the metal-film thickness, spacer distance, excitation angle and polarization, and achieved ~10-fold enhancement in fluorescence intensity compared to a bare glass substrate, which enabled us to image single fluorescent particles as small as 50 nm in diameter and single quantum-dots. Furthermore, we quantified the detection limit of this platform by using DNA origami-based brightness standards, demonstrating that ~80 fluorophores per diffraction-limited spot can be readily detected by our mobile microscope, which opens up new opportunities for POC diagnostics and sensing applications in resource-limited-settings.

An Energy-Efficient Multi-Tier Architecture for Fall Detection on Smartphones

PubMed Central

Guvensan, M. Amac; Kansiz, A. Oguz; Camgoz, N. Cihan; Turkmen, H. Irem; Yavuz, A. Gokhan; Karsligil, M. Elif

2017-01-01

Automatic detection of fall events is vital to providing fast medical assistance to the causality, particularly when the injury causes loss of consciousness. Optimization of the energy consumption of mobile applications, especially those which run 24/7 in the background, is essential for longer use of smartphones. In order to improve energy-efficiency without compromising on the fall detection performance, we propose a novel 3-tier architecture that combines simple thresholding methods with machine learning algorithms. The proposed method is implemented on a mobile application, called uSurvive, for Android smartphones. It runs as a background service and monitors the activities of a person in daily life and automatically sends a notification to the appropriate authorities and/or user defined contacts when it detects a fall. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated in terms of fall detection performance and energy consumption. Real life performance tests conducted on two different models of smartphone demonstrate that our 3-tier architecture with feature reduction could save up to 62% of energy compared to machine learning only solutions. In addition to this energy saving, the hybrid method has a 93% of accuracy, which is superior to thresholding methods and better than machine learning only solutions. PMID:28644378

Medical Device Integrated Vital Signs Monitoring Application with Real-Time Clinical Decision Support.

PubMed

Moqeem, Aasia; Baig, Mirza; Gholamhosseini, Hamid; Mirza, Farhaan; Lindén, Maria

2018-01-01

This research involves the design and development of a novel Android smartphone application for real-time vital signs monitoring and decision support. The proposed application integrates market available, wireless and Bluetooth connected medical devices for collecting vital signs. The medical device data collected by the app includes heart rate, oxygen saturation and electrocardiograph (ECG). The collated data is streamed/displayed on the smartphone in real-time. This application was designed by adopting six screens approach (6S) mobile development framework and focused on user-centered approach and considered clinicians-as-a-user. The clinical engagement, consultations, feedback and usability of the application in the everyday practices were considered critical from the initial phase of the design and development. Furthermore, the proposed application is capable to deliver rich clinical decision support in real-time using the integrated medical device data.

Jack'd, a Mobile Social Networking Application: A Site of Exclusion Within a Site of Inclusion.

PubMed

Bartone, Michael D

2018-01-01

User-generated smartphone applications have created a new level of virtual connectivity for gay males, one in which users can create profiles and meet other users as nearby or as far away as possible. For those within close proximity, the other users can be considered their "virtual neighbors." Although the applications are theoretically designed to be places of inclusion and not exclusion, where any gay male with economic means can download an application, many profiles have been created that exclude other users. Through an examination of profiles on one such application, Jack'd, exclusion is found in the way users celebrate and reinforce ideas of traditional masculinity and denigrate and reinforce stereotypic ideas of femininity embodied by some gay men. Jack'd, and other user-generated smartphone applications, can be read as virtual neighborhoods where one is excluded based on their gender performance.

PULSESMART: Pulse-based Arrhythmia Discrimination Using a Novel Smartphone Application

PubMed Central

McManus, David D.; Chong, Jo Woon; Soni, Apurv; Saczynski, Jane S.; Esa, Nada; Napolitano, Craig; Darling, Chad E.; Boyer, Edward; Rosen, Rochelle K.; Floyd, Kevin C.; Chon, Ki H.

2015-01-01

Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common and dangerous paroxysmal rhythm abnormality. Smartphones are increasingly used for mobile health applications by older patients at risk for AF and may be useful for AF screening. Objectives To test whether an enhanced smartphone app for AF detection can discriminate between sinus rhythm (SR), AF, premature atrial contractions (PACs) and premature ventricular contractions (PVCs). Methods We analyzed 219 2-minute pulse recordings from 121 participants with AF (n=98), PACs (n=15), or PVCs (n=15) using an iPhone 4S. We obtained pulsatile time series recordings in 91 participants after successful cardioversion to sinus rhythm from pre-existing AF. The PULSESMART app conducted pulse analysis using 3 methods [Root Mean Square of Successive RR Differences; Shannon Entropy; Poincare plot]. We examined the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive accuracy of the app for AF, PAC, and PVC discrimination from sinus rhythm using the 12-lead EKG or 3-lead telemetry as the gold standard. We also administered a brief usability questionnaire to a subgroup (n=65) of app users. Results The smartphone-based app demonstrated excellent sensitivity (0.970), specificity (0.935), and accuracy (0.951) for real-time identification of an irregular pulse during AF. The app also showed good accuracy for PAC (0.955) and PVC discrimination (0.960). The vast majority of surveyed app users (83%) reported that it was “useful” and “not complex” to use. Conclusions A smartphone app can accurately discriminate pulse recordings during AF from sinus rhythm, PACs, and PVCs. PMID:26391728

Smartphone-based vs paper-based asthma action plans for adolescents.

PubMed

Perry, Tamara T; Marshall, Alexandra; Berlinski, Ariel; Rettiganti, Mallikarjuna; Brown, Rita H; Randle, Shemeka M; Luo, Chunqiao; Bian, Jiang

2017-03-01

Adolescents with asthma are at risk of poor outcomes and are traditionally difficult to reach. To examine adolescents' use of and asthma outcomes associated with smartphone- vs paper-based asthma action plans (AAPs). We conducted a 6-month randomized clinical trial with adolescents (12-17 years old) with persistent asthma. Participants used their respective smartphone or paper AAPs for medication instructions and peak flow or asthma symptoms logging. AAP use was measured electronically for smartphone users and via mail-in diaries for the paper group. Changes in Asthma Control Test (ACT) and self-efficacy scores were examined. Thirty-four adolescents participated in this study (median age, 15.4 years). Participants were mostly African American (62%) with state-issued insurance (71%). Adolescents in the smartphone group accessed the AAP a median of 12.17 times per week or 4.36 days per week but only recorded medications or symptoms and peak flow data in the electronic diary a median of 10 days per month during the 6-month period. Participants in the paper group recorded data a median of 23.5 days per month on their paper diaries. Overall, there were no changes in ACT and self-efficacy scores between groups. Adolescents with uncontrolled asthma (baseline ACT score ≤19) had an improvement in ACT for the smartphone group (before, 11; after, 20) ([P = .04) compared with no change in the paper group (before, 17; after, 17) (P = .64). Adolescent satisfaction with the application was high, with 100% stating they would recommend the smartphone AAP to a friend. Adolescents were frequent and highly satisfied users of the smartphone AAP with a subset of participants with uncontrolled asthma demonstrating possible clinical benefit. Findings suggest a need for larger-scale studies to determine the effectiveness of smartphone-based AAPs among high-risk patients with asthma. clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT02091869. Copyright © 2016 American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The effect of mood state on visual search times for detecting a target in noise: An application of smartphone technology

PubMed Central

Maekawa, Toru; de Brecht, Matthew; Yamagishi, Noriko

2018-01-01

The study of visual perception has largely been completed without regard to the influence that an individual’s emotional status may have on their performance in visual tasks. However, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that mood may affect not only creative abilities and interpersonal skills but also the capacity to perform low-level cognitive tasks. Here, we sought to determine whether rudimentary visual search processes are similarly affected by emotion. Specifically, we examined whether an individual’s perceived happiness level affects their ability to detect a target in noise. To do so, we employed pop-out and serial visual search paradigms, implemented using a novel smartphone application that allowed search times and self-rated levels of happiness to be recorded throughout each twenty-four-hour period for two weeks. This experience sampling protocol circumvented the need to alter mood artificially with laboratory-based induction methods. Using our smartphone application, we were able to replicate the classic visual search findings, whereby pop-out search times remained largely unaffected by the number of distractors whereas serial search times increased with increasing number of distractors. While pop-out search times were unaffected by happiness level, serial search times with the maximum numbers of distractors (n = 30) were significantly faster for high happiness levels than low happiness levels (p = 0.02). Our results demonstrate the utility of smartphone applications in assessing ecologically valid measures of human visual performance. We discuss the significance of our findings for the assessment of basic visual functions using search time measures, and for our ability to search effectively for targets in real world settings. PMID:29664952

A randomized controlled study of exposure therapy as aftercare for alcohol use disorder: study protocol.

PubMed

Mellentin, Angelina Isabella; Nielsen, Bent; Nielsen, Anette Søgaard; Yu, Fei; Stenager, Elsebeth

2016-04-21

It is well documented that individuals with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) respond well during evidence-based psychological treatment, but also that a large proportion relapses when discharged from treatment and confronted with alcohol in real life. Cue Exposure Treatment (CET) focuses on exposing individuals to alcohol cues in order to reduce cravings as well as the likelihood of relapse. The aims of the study are: 1) to investigate whether CET aftercare delivered via a smartphone or in group sessions increases the effect of Cognitive Behavioural Treatment in groups of alcohol dependent individuals; 2) to investigate whether CET as a smartphone application is as or more effective than CET group therapy, and 3) to investigate whether CET as a smartphone application is more cost-effective than CET group aftercare and Aftercare as Usual. The study will be implemented as an investigator-blinded randomized controlled trial. A total of 300 consecutively enrolled alcohol use disorder individuals recruited from an alcohol outpatient clinic will be randomized into one of the three following aftercare groups after concluding primary treatment: (1) CET as a smartphone application; (2) CET as group therapy, and (3) Aftercare as Usual. It is hypothesized that the two experimental groups will achieve better treatment outcomes compared to the control group (3). Individuals in the CET groups are given the opportunity to practise coping strategies during exposure to alcohol stimuli before being unavoidably confronted with alcohol and associated stimuli in real life. Thus, CET may help prevent patients from relapsing after concluding treatment, and in the long term. Moreover, the CET application has the potential to improve AUD treatment and continuing care by offering psychological treatment whenever and wherever the patient finds it convenient. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02298751 Registration date: 6 November 2014.

The effect of mood state on visual search times for detecting a target in noise: An application of smartphone technology.

PubMed

Maekawa, Toru; Anderson, Stephen J; de Brecht, Matthew; Yamagishi, Noriko

2018-01-01

The study of visual perception has largely been completed without regard to the influence that an individual's emotional status may have on their performance in visual tasks. However, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that mood may affect not only creative abilities and interpersonal skills but also the capacity to perform low-level cognitive tasks. Here, we sought to determine whether rudimentary visual search processes are similarly affected by emotion. Specifically, we examined whether an individual's perceived happiness level affects their ability to detect a target in noise. To do so, we employed pop-out and serial visual search paradigms, implemented using a novel smartphone application that allowed search times and self-rated levels of happiness to be recorded throughout each twenty-four-hour period for two weeks. This experience sampling protocol circumvented the need to alter mood artificially with laboratory-based induction methods. Using our smartphone application, we were able to replicate the classic visual search findings, whereby pop-out search times remained largely unaffected by the number of distractors whereas serial search times increased with increasing number of distractors. While pop-out search times were unaffected by happiness level, serial search times with the maximum numbers of distractors (n = 30) were significantly faster for high happiness levels than low happiness levels (p = 0.02). Our results demonstrate the utility of smartphone applications in assessing ecologically valid measures of human visual performance. We discuss the significance of our findings for the assessment of basic visual functions using search time measures, and for our ability to search effectively for targets in real world settings.

A Validation Study of a Smartphone-Based Finger Tapping Application for Quantitative Assessment of Bradykinesia in Parkinson’s Disease

PubMed Central

Lee, Chae Young; Kang, Seong Jun; Hong, Sang-Kyoon

2016-01-01

Background Most studies of smartphone-based assessments of motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD) focused on gait, tremor or speech. Studies evaluating bradykinesia using wearable sensors are limited by a small cohort size and study design. We developed an application named smartphone tapper (SmT) to determine its applicability for clinical purposes and compared SmT parameters to current standard methods in a larger cohort. Methods A total of 57 PD patients and 87 controls examined with motor UPDRS underwent timed tapping tests (TT) using SmT and mechanical tappers (MeT) according to CAPSIT-PD. Subjects were asked to alternately tap each side of two rectangles with an index finger at maximum speed for ten seconds. Kinematic measurements were compared between the two groups. Results The mean number of correct tapping (MCoT), mean total distance of finger movement (T-Dist), mean inter-tap distance, and mean inter-tap dwelling time (IT-DwT) were significantly different between PD patients and controls. MCoT, as assessed using SmT, significantly correlated with motor UPDRS scores, bradykinesia subscores and MCoT using MeT. Multivariate analysis using the SmT parameters, such as T-Dist or IT-DwT, as predictive variables and age and gender as covariates demonstrated that PD patients were discriminated from controls. ROC curve analysis of a regression model demonstrated that the AUC for T-Dist was 0.92 (95% CI 0.88–0.96). Conclusion Our results suggest that a smartphone tapping application is comparable to conventional methods for the assessment of motor dysfunction in PD and may be useful in clinical practice. PMID:27467066

Context-aware event detection smartphone application for first responders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boddhu, Sanjay K.; Dave, Rakesh P.; McCartney, Matt; West, James A.; Williams, Robert L.

2013-05-01

The rise of social networking platforms like Twitter, Facebook, etc…, have provided seamless sharing of information (as chat, video and other media) among its user community on a global scale. Further, the proliferation of the smartphones and their connectivity networks has powered the ordinary individuals to share and acquire information regarding the events happening in his/her immediate vicinity in a real-time fashion. This human-centric sensed data being generated in "human-as-sensor" approach is tremendously valuable as it delivered mostly with apt annotations and ground truth that would be missing in traditional machine-centric sensors, besides high redundancy factor (same data thru multiple users). Further, when appropriately employed this real-time data can support in detecting localized events like fire, accidents, shooting, etc…, as they unfold and pin-point individuals being affected by those events. This spatiotemporal information, when made available for first responders in the event vicinity (or approaching it) can greatly assist them to make effective decisions to protect property and life in a timely fashion. In this vein, under SATE and YATE programs, the research team at AFRL Tec^Edge Discovery labs had demonstrated the feasibility of developing Smartphone applications, that can provide a augmented reality view of the appropriate detected events in a given geographical location (localized) and also provide an event search capability over a large geographic extent. In its current state, the application thru its backend connectivity utilizes a data (Text & Image) processing framework, which deals with data challenges like; identifying and aggregating important events, analyzing and correlating the events temporally and spatially and building a search enabled event database. Further, the smartphone application with its backend data processing workflow has been successfully field tested with live user generated feeds.

A Novel Application for the Detection of an Irregular Pulse using an iPhone 4S in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation

PubMed Central

McManus, David D.; Lee, Jinseok; Maitas, Oscar; Esa, Nada; Pidikiti, Rahul; Carlucci, Alex; Harrington, Josephine; Mick, Eric; Chon, Ki H.

2012-01-01

Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common and associated with adverse health outcomes. Timely detection of AF can be challenging using traditional diagnostic tools. Smartphone use is increasing and may provide an inexpensive and user-friendly means to diagnose AF. Objective To test the hypothesis that a smartphone-based application could detect an irregular pulse from AF. Methods 76 adults with persistent AF were consented for participation in our study. We obtained pulsatile time series recordings before and after cardioversion using an iPhone 4S camera. A novel smartphone application conducted real-time pulse analysis using 2 statistical methods [Root Mean Square of Successive RR Differences (RMSSD/mean); Shannon Entropy (ShE)]. We examined the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive accuracy of both algorithms using the 12-lead electrocardiogram as the gold standard. Results RMSDD/mean and ShE were higher in participants in AF compared with sinus rhythm. The 2 methods were inversely related to AF in regression models adjusting for key factors including heart rate and blood pressure (β coefficients per SD-increment in RMSDD/mean and ShE were −0.20 and −0.35; p<0.001). An algorithm combining the 2 statistical methods demonstrated excellent sensitivity (0.962), specificity (0.975), and accuracy (0.968) for beat-to-beat discrimination of an irregular pulse during AF from sinus rhythm. Conclusions In a prospectively recruited cohort of 76 participants undergoing cardioversion for AF, we found that a novel algorithm analyzing signals recorded using an iPhone 4S accurately distinguished pulse recordings during AF from sinus rhythm. Data are needed to explore the performance and acceptability of smartphone-based applications for AF detection. PMID:23220686

A novel application for the detection of an irregular pulse using an iPhone 4S in patients with atrial fibrillation.

PubMed

McManus, David D; Lee, Jinseok; Maitas, Oscar; Esa, Nada; Pidikiti, Rahul; Carlucci, Alex; Harrington, Josephine; Mick, Eric; Chon, Ki H

2013-03-01

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common and associated with adverse health outcomes. Timely detection of AF can be challenging using traditional diagnostic tools. Smartphone use is increasing and may provide an inexpensive and user-friendly means to diagnoseAF. To test the hypothesis that a smartphone-based application could detect an irregular pulse fromAF. Seventy-six adults with persistent AF were consented for participation in our study. We obtained pulsatile time series recordings before and after cardioversion using an iPhone 4S camera. A novel smartphone application conducted real-time pulse analysis using 2 statistical methods: root mean square of successive RR difference (RMSSD/mean) and Shannon entropy (ShE). We examined the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive accuracy of both algorithms using the 12-lead electrocardiogram as the gold standard. RMSDD/mean and ShE were higher in participants in AF than in those with sinus rhythm. The 2 methods were inversely related to AF in regression models adjusting for key factors including heart rate and blood pressure (beta coefficients per SD increment in RMSDD/mean and ShE were-0.20 and-0.35; P<.001). An algorithm combining the 2 statistical methods demonstrated excellent sensitivity (0.962), specificity (0.975), and accuracy (0.968) for beat-to-beat discrimination of an irregular pulse during AF from sinus rhythm. In a prospectively recruited cohort of 76 participants undergoing cardioversion for AF, we found that a novel algorithm analyzing signals recorded using an iPhone 4S accurately distinguished pulse recordings during AF from sinus rhythm. Data are needed to explore the performance and acceptability of smartphone-based applications for AF detection. Copyright © 2013 Heart Rhythm Society. All rights reserved.

Diabetes Applications for Arabic Speakers: A Critical Review of Available Apps for Android and iOS Operated Smartphones.

PubMed

Alhuwail, Dari

2016-01-01

Today, 415 million adults have diabetes; more than 35 million of diabetic adults live in the Middle East and North Africa region. Smartphone penetration in the region is high and applications, or apps, for diabetics have shown promising results in recent years. This study took place between September and December 2015 and reviewed all currently available smartphone diabetes apps for Arabic speakers in both the Apple App and Google Play stores. There were only few diabetes apps for Arabic speakers; only eighteen apps were discovered and considered for this study. Most apps were informational. Only three apps offered utilities such as glucose reading conversion. The apps had issues related to information quality and adherence to latest evidence-based medical advice. There is a need for more evidence-based Arabic diabetes apps with improved functionality. Future research of Arabic diabetes apps should also focus on the involvement and engagement of the patients in the design of these apps.

A smart-phone application and a companion website for the improvement of the communication skills of children with autism: clinical rationale, technical development and preliminary results.

PubMed

De Leo, Gianluca; Gonzales, Carol H; Battagiri, Padmaja; Leroy, Gondy

2011-08-01

Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that is part of a group of disorders known as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Today, one in 150 individuals is diagnosed with autism. Lack of social interaction and problems with communication are the main characteristics displayed by children with ASD. The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is a communication system where children exchange visual symbols as a form of communication. The visual symbols are laminated pictures stored in a binder. We have designed, developed and are currently testing a software application, called PixTalk which works on any Windows Mobile Smart-phone. Teachers and caregivers can access a web site and select from an online library the images to be downloaded on to the Smart-phone. Children can browse and select images to express their intentions, desires, and emotions using PixTalk. Case study results indicate that PixTalk can be used as part of ongoing therapy.

Extensional rheometry with a handheld mobile device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marshall, Kristin A.; Liedtke, Aleesha M.; Todt, Anika H.; Walker, Travis W.

2017-06-01

The on-site characterization of complex fluids is important for a number of academic and industrial applications. Consequently, a need exists to develop portable rheometers that can provide in the field diagnostics and serve as tools for rapid quality assurance. With the advancement of smartphone technology and the widespread global ownership of smart devices, mobile applications are attractive as platforms for rheological characterization. The present work investigates the use of a smartphone device for the extensional characterization of a series of Boger fluids composed of glycerol/water and poly(ethylene oxide), taking advantage of the increasing high-speed video capabilities (currently up to 240 Hz capture rate at 720p) of smartphone cameras. We report a noticeable difference in the characterization of samples with slight variations in polymer concentration and discuss current device limitations. Potential benefits of a handheld extensional rheometer include its use as a point-of-care diagnostic tool, especially in developing communities, as well as a simple and inexpensive tool for assessing product quality in industry.

The SAMS: Smartphone Addiction Management System and verification.

PubMed

Lee, Heyoung; Ahn, Heejune; Choi, Samwook; Choi, Wanbok

2014-01-01

While the popularity of smartphones has given enormous convenience to our lives, their pathological use has created a new mental health concern among the community. Hence, intensive research is being conducted on the etiology and treatment of the condition. However, the traditional clinical approach based surveys and interviews has serious limitations: health professionals cannot perform continual assessment and intervention for the affected group and the subjectivity of assessment is questionable. To cope with these limitations, a comprehensive ICT (Information and Communications Technology) system called SAMS (Smartphone Addiction Management System) is developed for objective assessment and intervention. The SAMS system consists of an Android smartphone application and a web application server. The SAMS client monitors the user's application usage together with GPS location and Internet access location, and transmits the data to the SAMS server. The SAMS server stores the usage data and performs key statistical data analysis and usage intervention according to the clinicians' decision. To verify the reliability and efficacy of the developed system, a comparison study with survey-based screening with the K-SAS (Korean Smartphone Addiction Scale) as well as self-field trials is performed. The comparison study is done using usage data from 14 users who are 19 to 50 year old adults that left at least 1 week usage logs and completed the survey questionnaires. The field trial fully verified the accuracy of the time, location, and Internet access information in the usage measurement and the reliability of the system operation over more than 2 weeks. The comparison study showed that daily use count has a strong correlation with K-SAS scores, whereas daily use times do not strongly correlate for potentially addicted users. The correlation coefficients of count and times with total K-SAS score are CC = 0.62 and CC =0.07, respectively, and the t-test analysis for the contrast group of potential addicts and the values for the non-addicts were p = 0.047 and p = 0.507, respectively.

Smartphone transmission of electrocardiography images to reduce time of cardiac catheterization laboratory activation.

PubMed

Chao, Chun-Chieh; Chen, Yi-Chun; Shih, Chun-Ming; Hou, Sen-Kuang; Seethala, Raghu R; Aisiku, Imoigele P; Huang, Chuan-Chin; Hou, Peter C; Kao, Wei-Fong

2018-06-01

This retrospective study evaluated the use of a smartphone application to facilitate communication between the emergency physician (EP) and the interventional cardiologist in order to minimize the time to cardiac catheterization laboratory (CCL) activation and time to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We retrospectively collected pertinent time-points in the management of patients diagnosed with STEMI in the emergency department and their outcome. The primary outcome was the reduction in the time from ECG interpretation to CCL activation after the implementation of a smartphone application. A total of 84 patients were enrolled. Patients' electrocardiography (ECG) were described by traditional verbal communication via telephone (group 1, n = 40) and by additional smartphone transmission of ECG images to an interventional cardiologist (group 2, n = 44). Relevant time-points were recorded for analysis. The time from ECG interpretation to CCL activation was reduced from 28.3 ± 4.1 in group 1 to 17.6 ± 2.3 min in group 2 (p = 0.03). Similarly, the time from ECG interpretation to balloon inflation time (D2B) decreased from 93.1 to 73.4 min (p = 0.025). Comparing group 2 with group 1, the door to balloon (D2B) time improved to 90.4 ± 9.8 from 119.3 ± 16.3 min (p = 0.23), the proportion of patients with a D2B time less than 90 min increased to 70.5% from 52.5% (p = 0.09), and the mortality rate decreased to 2.2% from 12.5% (p = 0.07). The additional use of a smartphone application to transmit ECG information to interventional cardiologists by EPs facilitated communication and reduced the decision time to CCL activation and percutaneous intervention. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC.

TrafficTurk evaluation.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-04-01

This report summarizes a project undertaken by the University of Illinois on behalf of the Illinois Department of : Transportation to evaluate a smartphone application called TrafficTurk for traffic safety and traffic monitoring : applications. Traff...

Designing and Developing a Mobile Smartphone Application for Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Followed-Up at Diabetes Outpatient Clinics in Norway

PubMed Central

Garnweidner-Holme, Lisa Maria; Borgen, Iren; Garitano, Iñaki; Noll, Josef; Lukasse, Mirjam

2015-01-01

The prevalence of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is increasing worldwide. Controlling blood sugar levels is fundamental to the management of GDM. Current practice in Norway includes patients registering blood sugar levels in a booklet and receiving verbal and/or written health information. A smartphone application may provide patients individually targeted and easily available advice to control blood sugar levels. The aim of this paper is to document the process of designing and developing a smartphone application (the Pregnant+ app) that automatically transfers blood sugar levels from the glucometer and has information about healthy eating and physical activity. This formative research included expert-group discussions among health professionals, researchers and experts in data privacy and security. User-involvement studies were conducted to discuss prototypes of the app. Results indicated that the content of the application should be easy to understand given the varying degree of patients’ literacy and in line with the information they receive at clinics. The final version of the app incorporated behavior change techniques such as self-monitoring and cues to action. Results from the first round of interactions show the importance of involving expert groups and patients when developing a mobile health-care device. PMID:27417764

The Integration of Technology into Treatment Programs to Aid in the Reduction of Chronic Pain.

PubMed

Eckard, Chad; Asbury, Caitlyn; Bolduc, Brandon; Camerlengo, Chelsea; Gotthardt, Julia; Healy, Lauren; Waialae, Laura; Zeigler, Ceirra; Childers, Jennifer; Horzempa, Joseph

2016-01-01

In the United States, roughly $600 billion is spent on pain management - usually in the form of addictive opioid drugs. Due to the dangers associated with long-term opiate-based pain medication, the development of additional strategies for chronic pain management is warranted. The advent of smartphones and associated technology has provided healthcare providers with a unique opportunity to provide pain management support. This review summarizes of the use of technology to supplement chronic pain management regimens. Smartphone and internet-based applications that employ online journals facilitate improved communication between patient and clinician and allow for more personalized care and improved pain management. For instance, the e-Ouch application provides a platform for pain logs as well as feedback and coaching to patients via Twitter postings and blogs. Other applications provide online resources and blogs to improve patient education, which has shown to relieve patient symptoms through lifestyle modification. Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on the psychological coping mechanisms. The application of technology and smartphone apps toward pain management shows promise toward reducing the use of opioids in pain management, but has yet to be incorporated as a standard practice. More robust studies critically evaluating the efficacy of these technology-based therapies need to be conducted before standardization and insurance coverage can become reality.

Cellular Automata-Based Application for Driver Assistance in Indoor Parking Areas.

PubMed

Caballero-Gil, Cándido; Caballero-Gil, Pino; Molina-Gil, Jezabel

2016-11-15

This work proposes an adaptive recommendation mechanism for smart parking that takes advantage of the popularity of smartphones and the rise of the Internet of Things. The proposal includes a centralized system to forecast available indoor parking spaces, and a low-cost mobile application to obtain data of actual and predicted parking occupancy. The described scheme uses data from both sources bidirectionally so that the centralized forecast system is fed with data obtained with the distributed system based on smartphones, and vice versa. The mobile application uses different wireless technologies to provide the forecast system with actual parking data and receive from the system useful recommendations about where to park. Thus, the proposal can be used by any driver to easily find available parking spaces in indoor facilities. The client software developed for smartphones is a lightweight Android application that supplies precise indoor positioning systems based on Quick Response codes or Near Field Communication tags, and semi-precise indoor positioning systems based on Bluetooth Low Energy beacons. The performance of the proposed approach has been evaluated by conducting computer simulations and real experimentation with a preliminary implementation. The results have shown the strengths of the proposal in the reduction of the time and energy costs to find available parking spaces.