FeverPhone: The App That Turns Your Smartphone Into A Thermometer
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In a groundbreaking development, a team of scientists led by researchers at the University of Washington (UW) has successfully transformed smartphones into thermometers without the need for additional hardware.
The team, including Indian-origin professor Shwetak Patel , achieved this feat by repurposing the existing battery temperature sensors and utilizing the phone's touchscreen to gather data. Through the application of a machine learning model, core body temperatures of individuals can now be estimated with remarkable accuracy.
The researchers introduced an innovative app named FeverPhone , which harnesses the power of existing phone sensors and screens to provide estimates of body temperature. In a recent study published in the journal Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive , Mobile , Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies, the team demonstrated that the app performed comparably to some consumer thermometers when tested on 37 patients in an emergency department.
The potential implications of this technology for medical professionals are exciting. Although further training data is required for widespread use, doctors recognize the value of such advancements. Dr. Mastafa Springston , a co-author of the study, highlighted the significance of FeverPhone's early detection capabilities. During a widespread influenza outbreak, individuals rushing to the emergency room often face delays of up to five days or even a week. However, if individuals were to share their fever results with public health agencies through the app, similar to signing up for COVID exposure warnings, early intervention could become a reality.
The researchers employed various test cases to gather data for training a machine learning model capable of estimating body temperature by analyzing complex interactions. Leveraging the phone's battery heat sensors, the app monitors the rate at which the device heats up. The touchscreen data is then utilized to determine the portion of heat attributable to the user's touch. By progressively incorporating additional test cases, the team successfully calibrated the model to account for variations, including phone accessories.
To utilize FeverPhone, participants simply held their smartphones like point-and-shoot cameras, ensuring that their forefingers and thumbs touched the corner edges to minimize heat transfer from their hands. Participants then pressed the touchscreen against their foreheads for approximately 90 seconds, which the researchers identified as the ideal timeframe for detecting body heat transfer. Remarkably, FeverPhone achieved an average estimation error of merely 0.23 degrees Celsius, falling well within the clinically acceptable range for core body temperature measurements.
Lead author Joseph Breda explained the team's rationale for starting with smartphones, citing their ubiquity and ease of data collection. This breakthrough innovation opens up a realm of possibilities for leveraging existing technologies to address critical healthcare challenges.
The smartphone, once a simple communication device, has now been elevated to a diagnostic tool capable of revolutionizing early disease detection and intervention. With further advancements and widespread adoption, the future of healthcare may lie in the palm of our hands.
The team, including Indian-origin professor Shwetak Patel , achieved this feat by repurposing the existing battery temperature sensors and utilizing the phone's touchscreen to gather data. Through the application of a machine learning model, core body temperatures of individuals can now be estimated with remarkable accuracy.
The researchers introduced an innovative app named FeverPhone , which harnesses the power of existing phone sensors and screens to provide estimates of body temperature. In a recent study published in the journal Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive , Mobile , Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies, the team demonstrated that the app performed comparably to some consumer thermometers when tested on 37 patients in an emergency department.
The potential implications of this technology for medical professionals are exciting. Although further training data is required for widespread use, doctors recognize the value of such advancements. Dr. Mastafa Springston , a co-author of the study, highlighted the significance of FeverPhone's early detection capabilities. During a widespread influenza outbreak, individuals rushing to the emergency room often face delays of up to five days or even a week. However, if individuals were to share their fever results with public health agencies through the app, similar to signing up for COVID exposure warnings, early intervention could become a reality.
The researchers employed various test cases to gather data for training a machine learning model capable of estimating body temperature by analyzing complex interactions. Leveraging the phone's battery heat sensors, the app monitors the rate at which the device heats up. The touchscreen data is then utilized to determine the portion of heat attributable to the user's touch. By progressively incorporating additional test cases, the team successfully calibrated the model to account for variations, including phone accessories.
To utilize FeverPhone, participants simply held their smartphones like point-and-shoot cameras, ensuring that their forefingers and thumbs touched the corner edges to minimize heat transfer from their hands. Participants then pressed the touchscreen against their foreheads for approximately 90 seconds, which the researchers identified as the ideal timeframe for detecting body heat transfer. Remarkably, FeverPhone achieved an average estimation error of merely 0.23 degrees Celsius, falling well within the clinically acceptable range for core body temperature measurements.
Lead author Joseph Breda explained the team's rationale for starting with smartphones, citing their ubiquity and ease of data collection. This breakthrough innovation opens up a realm of possibilities for leveraging existing technologies to address critical healthcare challenges.
The smartphone, once a simple communication device, has now been elevated to a diagnostic tool capable of revolutionizing early disease detection and intervention. With further advancements and widespread adoption, the future of healthcare may lie in the palm of our hands.
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