Increased usage of Smartphones in Medicine, an opportunity for Medical Cytogenetics

Abstract

Background:The progressive availability at a worldwide scale of smartphones with bigger computing power and equipped with high quality cameras advertise a better usage for this equipment by health care professionals. In addition, the possibility of acquiring very fast images and sharing them on the Internet by developing different applications increases the range of opportunities to diagnose diverse pathologies. The aim of the study: To carry out a bibliographic review on previously exposed topic and share the experience of the cytogenetics laboratory of the National Center of Medical Genetics in the introduction of smartphones and their use in cytogenetics. Materials and methods: The web search engine Google Scholar was consulted for the terms -smartphone‖, -medicine‖, -diagnosis‖ and -clinical images‖. Pubmed database was also consulted for the same terms. Results: Several articles were retrieved from first world countries and also from developing countries. The authors proposed to apply smartphones technologies to make cheaper the dissemination of information for longdistance consultations. Conclusion: The use of "smartphones" makes it easier to perform tasks at a lower cost than those involving the use of professional equipment that has been the only option available to researchers within the health sciences until now.