• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Friday, August 8, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News

Medically savvy smartphone imaging systems

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
April 15, 2021
in Science News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Development of smartphone-based imaging systems for medicine and healthcare can be optimized by newly published guidelines for holistic assessment

IMAGE

Credit: Hunt et al., doi 10.1117/1.JBO.26.4.040902

Smartphones get smarter every day. These “Swiss Army knives” of mobile computing become even more useful with specialized attachments and applications to improve healthcare. Based on inherent capabilities like built-in cameras, touchscreens, and 3D sensing, as well wearable peripheral devices, custom interfaces for smartphones can yield portable, user-friendly biomedical imaging systems to guide and facilitate diagnosis and treatment in point-of-care settings.

What are the most effective ways to leverage and augment smartphone capabilities? Helpful guidelines are provided in a critical review of emerging smartphone-based imaging systems recently published in the Journal of Biomedical Optics (JBO).

According to author Brady Hunt, a research scientist at Dartmouth College’s Thayer School of Engineering, “The ubiquity of the smartphone is frequently cited as a justification that smartphone-based systems are inherently low-cost, easy-to-use, and scalable biomedical imaging solutions.” But, as Hunt and his co-authors point out, most systems developed are limited to a single phone model, like an iPhone 12 or the ultra-rugged Caterpillar S61, and involve manual, often fragmented image acquisition and analysis pipelines.

Focusing specifically on live (in vivo) applications for a diverse array of point-of-care-imaging, Hunt and his co-authors survey and assess recent research, identifying numerous design challenges, as well as areas with strong potential. Their focus on real-world usability provides meaningful direction for prospective designers of custom hard- and software for smartphone interfaces. Generally, the most effective use-case scenarios for medically savvy smartphone imaging systems are those in which handheld, noninvasive image guidance is needed and accommodated by the clinical workflow.

Among the top emerging technologies identified for diagnostic and treatment guidance applications are handheld systems for multispectral and quantitative fluorescence imaging. These applications often require embedded electronics to control light delivery, and the authors note that wireless communication to embedded electronics is an underutilized yet promising way to improve and customize control.

Ways to improve

Three high-priority areas are proposed to advance research in smartphone-based imaging systems for healthcare:

  • Improved hardware design to accommodate the rapidly changing smartphone ecosystem
  • Creation of open-source image acquisition and analysis pipelines
  • Adoption of robust calibration techniques to address phone-to-phone variability

Variability among smartphone platforms is a significant problem for reproducibility, which the authors suggest may be addressed by the creation of templates that support the core functionality necessary for biomedical imaging. These platform-specific templates would ideally include support for RAW image acquisition and standardized processing routines for common biomedical image analysis tasks.

As smartphones grow smarter, their built-in capabilities will render them increasingly versatile and better able to contribute to biomedical imaging. Harnessing those smarts to benefit healthcare invites creative, collaborative biomedical engineering.

###

Read the original article by Brady Hunt, Alberto J. Ruiz, and Brian W. Pogue, “Smartphone-based imaging systems for medical applications: a critical review,” J. Biomed. Opt. 26(4) 040902 (2021), doi 10.1117/1.JBO.26.4.040902.

Media Contact
Daneet Steffens
[email protected]

Original Source

https://spie.org/news/medically-savvy-smartphone-imaging-systems?SSO=1

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.26.4.040902

Tags: BioinformaticsBiomechanics/BiophysicsBiomedical/Environmental/Chemical EngineeringBiotechnologyElectrical Engineering/ElectronicsHardwareNanotechnology/MicromachinesOpticsResearch/DevelopmentTechnology/Engineering/Computer Science
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

blank

Anthelmintic Impact and Ascaris Infection in Pakistani Children

August 8, 2025
Rare Case: Tracheal Bronchus Complicates Pulmonary Agenesis

Rare Case: Tracheal Bronchus Complicates Pulmonary Agenesis

August 8, 2025

SFU’s Indoor Berry Research Expands and Diversifies Thanks to Homegrown Innovation Challenge Support

August 8, 2025

Advancing Precision Agriculture in Montana: Anish Sapkota Explores Water, Soil, and Beyond in Farming Systems

August 8, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Molecules in Focus: Capturing the Timeless Dance of Particles

    132 shares
    Share 53 Tweet 33
  • Neuropsychiatric Risks Linked to COVID-19 Revealed

    76 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • Overlooked Dangers: Debunking Common Myths About Skin Cancer Risk in the U.S.

    61 shares
    Share 24 Tweet 15
  • Modified DASH Diet Reduces Blood Sugar Levels in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes, Clinical Trial Finds

    53 shares
    Share 21 Tweet 13

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Anthelmintic Impact and Ascaris Infection in Pakistani Children

Rare Case: Tracheal Bronchus Complicates Pulmonary Agenesis

SFU’s Indoor Berry Research Expands and Diversifies Thanks to Homegrown Innovation Challenge Support

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.