title: Clinical laboratory data: acquire, analyze, communicate, liberate.
abstract: The availability of portable healthcare devices, which can acquire and transmit medical data to remote experts would dramatically affect healthcare in areas with poor infrastructure. Smartphones, which feature touchscreen computer capabilities and sophisticated cameras, have become widely available with over billion units shipped in 2013. In the clinical laboratory, smartphones have recently brought the capabilities of key instruments such as spectrophotometers, fluorescence analyzers and microscopes into the palm of the hand. Several research groups have developed sensitive and low-cost smartphone-based diagnostic assay prototypes for testing cholesterol, albumin, vitamin D, tumor markers, and the detection of infectious agents. This review covers the use of smartphones to acquire, analyze, communicate, and liberate clinical laboratory data. Smartphones promise to dramatically improve the quality and quantity of healthcare offered in resource-limited areas.
authors.affiliation: Novel Diagnostics and Therapeutics, Yousef Jameel Science & Technology Research Centre, and Department of Chemistry, School of Sciences & Engineering, The American University in Cairo, New Cairo, Egypt. Electronic address: hazzazy@aucegypt.edu.
authors.forename: Hassan M E
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Azzazy
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program of Biotechnology, School of Sciences and Engineering, The American University in Cairo, New Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Ali H A
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Elbehery
mesh_terms: D040421:Cell Phone / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Data processing; Immunoassays; Lab-on-chip; Microscopy; Point-of-care testing; Smartphones