Automated doctors: cell phones as diagnostic tools.

“Here we are just playing Angry Birds,” says Wilson To. “How do we unlock [the] smartphone’s potential?” To is trying to do just that at Caradigm, a joint health technology venture of GE Healthcare and Microsoft Corporation. To is the lead researcher and codeveloper of Lifelens, a mobile phone– based diagnostic tool. Lifelens is still in its visionary stage, but the hope is to change point-of-care (POC) diagnostics through the application of artificial intelligence and computer vision technologies. In the first iteration of this technology, Lifelens assesses blood samples for malaria. The Lifelens concept joins the innovations from at least a handful of other teams pushing forward in the field of cell phone– based malaria microscopy. We spoke to Dr. To about his team’s healthcare tool, as well as about the larger movement toward mobile phone– based diagnostic tools.