As Smartphones Get Smarter, We Get Healthier and Health Care Gets Cheaper

By Good News Network Monday, January 23, 2012

Health - General

The use of mobile technology to distribute health care, especially in rural areas perfectly exploits the wonders of a device that's fast becoming ubiquitous, with two in three people owning one worldwide.

Smartphones can already track calories burned and miles run, and measure sleep patterns. By 2013, they'll be detecting erratic heartbeats and monitoring tremors from Parkinson's disease.

A new generation of startups is building apps and add-ons that make your handheld phone work like high-end medical equipment, especially thanks to modern high-resolution screens.

An MIT professor began testing new technology using a plastic clip-on eyepiece that will deliver all the functionality of an optometrist, determining proper prescriptions for eyeglasses, for under $30 compared to the $10,000 machines that are virtually impossible to find in a rural village in the developing world. Called, EyeNetra, the technology seeks to bring eye care to the palm of your hand.

Learn about the range of health apps available in this article from Fast Comany.