Researchers are building an application for smartphones that can help with heart surgery

Our smart phones are amazing devices and with continuous improvement in cameras, they seem to have reached the level that researchers can use for medical purposes. Thanks to their efforts, it seems that in the future, simple smart phone applications can make heart surgery safer.


During a heart operation to remove an artery blockage, doctors will need to know if the artery is healthy enough to use a cardiac catheter to remove the blockage. Currently, the method currently being tested is called the Allen test. This test relies on blocking the blood circulation in the hand until it turns white before easing pressure on the main arteries to see if the hand turns pink again. This is used to determine which artery is healthy.

But with smartphones, the smartphone camera was used, knowing that the researchers used the iPhone 4 in this case to monitor changes in color on the fingertips. According to the Allen test, the application seemed to be more accurate, with 92 percent accuracy, while the Allen test was 82 percent accurate.

According to lead researcher Dr. Benjamin Hibbert, a researcher at the University of Ottawa Institute of Cardiology in Canada, "Using a smartphone to monitor changes in finger colors is more subtle in detecting minor changes compared to public opinion of physicians about color Hand ".

Currently, the application is still in the pilot phase and is not used in this area, but the fact that it is easily and quickly accessible means that it can help make doctors' decisions easier without having to spend on expensive new equipment. More details about this study can be found here.