UCLA Researchers Use iPhone to Track Parkinson’s Disease

An iPhone application has been used by researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles to keep tabs on the progress of patients afflicted with Parkinson’s disease.

Researchers attached an iPhone 3G to two people, one with Parkinson’s and one without the movement disorder. The scientists used the phone’s accelerometer (a device that tracks phone motion) to detect tremors that are characteristic of the disease. The results, which showed a statistically significant difference between the two people, were then sent wirelessly to the researchers directly from the phone, according to iMedicalApps.

The study notes that previous research used wireless accelerometers to measure the severity of Parkinson’s disease, but this is the first attempt to use one device to both collect and transmit the data, which could make it easier for distant doctors to track the condition of their patients.

It’s the latest example of scientists using cellphones to help diagnose diseases remotely. Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley previously built attachments that turn camera phones into microscopes to try to diagnose malaria in Africa.