Our smartphones are powerful sensors and information processors that have the potential to detect early signs of some diseases. Parkinson’s, for example, is a disease that can have a slow onset with few symptoms early on. These symptoms, moreover, may be unnoticeable to the person and those around them, but possibly detectable by the phone.
To be able to explore this possibility further, a collaboration of European researchers have developed an app called iPrognosis that can measure things like movements, detect unusual signatures within a person’s voice while making calls, and detect changes in one’s patterns of behavior that may be signs of Parkinson’s. The app collects a bunch of data and makes it available to the researchers, much of it without the user having to do anything explicit to interact with the app.
The researchers are recruiting people to participate and you can download the app (only available on Android) directly from the Google Play store.
Here’s more about iProgrnosis:
And here’s a powerful endorsement for the project. For those as ignorant as us, this is the manager of the soccer team Manchester United.
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