Huge Smartphone Sensors Set To Revolutionize Science

The latest Nokia smartphone, the 1020, comes with a massive 41 megapixel camera. Begging the question, is it a phone or a camera? This is the wrong question. All phones are camera. All cameras are phones (or will be – they will soon all have WiFi or ability to connect to the Internet). The question to me more is what happens when you connect a superior image capture mechanism to the Internet. Equally important, when you put that mega-phone into the razor-thin margin economics of hardware, prices will come down amazing fast. So now the question becomes, what can we do with this super camera?
At 41 megapixels we can get down to extremely granular detail on many things. Granted, the Nokia device here can’t do that. But the key is the sensor size, and that’s what is enormous on this phone as compared to its predecessors. With such a powerful sensor, you can deploy the phone for far greater uses. For example, a phone could now capture microscopic details in water, looking for particulate matter of bugs. A phone could capture very minute differentials in thread weaves or fabric shades to detect counterfeit clothes. A phone camera, mounted on a drone, could capture fine-grained color shifts in forest canopies to measure fire risk or species concentration. The phone becomes the scientific instrument.

We are already seeing this with many of the iPhone and Android accessories that attach cheap sensors to smartphones, delivering distributed scientific and medical information capture. From a smart jacket that is an FDA approved EKG for heart monitoring to water quality sensors, the phone is headed towards becoming an amazingly powerful data capture system to measure and monitor our physical world. This changes everything as what had been previously the province of high-end science becomes affordable to all and real-time, on-demand information capture replaces data captured rarely and at great expense.


Images and the visual realm are probably the richest sources of information. We are adept at building technology to process images, from the adaptive optics software used to correct images from giant telescopes to the nifty shake-correction software that runs in the Nokia phone. And our eyes are the most efficient sensors we have (by most arguments).  41 megapixels, of course, dwarfs the power of our eyes. And now that set of mechanical eyes is in our pocket, connected to the Internet.

Source:Internet

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Smartphone based Ultrasound Hits Market After Regulatory Delays

A smartphone-enabled ultrasound device is on the market after lengthy regulatory delays, showing an emerging need for balance between federal regulators, medical device manufacturers, and the pace of technology.

The device allows healthcare professionals to perform ultrasounds using a smartphone with a plug-in wand. It received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February, after a lengthy wait, and then it took manufacturer Mobisante eight months to implement FDA-mandated controls.
Due to the gap between conception and commercial debut of Mobisante's mobile ultrasound, the device only works with the two-year-old Toshiba Windows Mobile TG01 phone and requires a USB 2.0 probe for the port. As a result, it isn't compatible with widely used iPhones and Android phones.
In July, the FDA released guidelines regarding the use of medical apps in practicing medicine, basically saying that these apps turn smartphones and tablets into "medical devices," which are then subject to the regulatory body's approval process.
The FDA's main regulatory aim is public safety, a desire that's shared by device makers and healthcare professionals alike. However, a disconnect may be growing as a lengthy approval process goes head-to-head with lightning-fast advances in mobile technology.
The FDA approval process for drugs and medical devices has been known to take years and be costly for manufacturers. The FDA clearance process for the Mobisante device may have cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Use of smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices is increasing in health and hospital settings. At the same time, health costs are growing and large hospital systems, clinics and private practices are looking for ways to save money, creating a market for mobile medical device makers estimated to be worth $2 billion.
The smartphone-enabled ultrasound costs just under $7,500 for the Toshiba smartphone, probe and software, as compared to full-size machines that can cost in excess of $100,000. It can also send images wirelessly for consultation or storage.
Mobisante co-founder and CTO David Zar said the development and approval process for the mobile ultrasound imaging system took "a lot longer than expected."
But, he also admitted the extra time and additional protocols imposed by federal regulators allowed them to refine the product and were ultimately positive.
Medical device companies are eager to get new products out and jump into a growing market created by the widespread use of mobile technology. As the pace of innovation picks up, pressure on federal regulators to speed the approval process is likely to increase as well.

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