Assessment of Mobile Health Apps Using Built-In Smartphone Sensors for Diagnosis and Treatment: Systematic Survey of Apps Listed in International Curated Health App Libraries
Assessment of Mobile Health Apps Using Built-In Smartphone Sensors for Diagnosis and Treatment: Systematic Survey of Apps Listed in International Curated Health App Libraries
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DOI：
10.2196/16741
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发表时间：
2020-02-03
影响因子：
5
通讯作者：
Vandelanotte, Corneel
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Baxter, Clarence;Carroll, Julie-Anne;Vandelanotte, Corneel
背景：苹果和b谷歌应用商店中有超过100万个健康和幸福应用程序。一些应用程序使用内置的手机传感器来生成健康数据。临床医生和患者可以在第三方管理的移动健康应用程序库中找到有关安全有效的移动健康应用程序的信息。目标：这些独立的基于web的存储库引导应用程序从可信列表中选择，但它们是否提供使用无处不在的低成本智能手机传感器来改善健康的应用程序？本研究旨在确定在健康应用程序库中列出的应用程序中使用的内置手机传感器的类型，这些应用程序所处理的健康状况的范围，以及应用程序的跨平台可用性。方法：本系统调查回顾了三个这样的存储库（National Health Service Apps Library， AppScript和MyHealthApps），评估了使用内置手机传感器诊断或治疗健康状况的应用程序的可用性。结果：共有18个这样的应用程序被确定并包括在本次调查中，占被调查的图书馆提供的所有应用程序的1.1%（8/699）到3%（2/76）。约有三分之一（7/18,39%）的应用提供苹果和Android的跨平台版本，另有50%（9/18）的应用只面向苹果，11%（2/18）面向Android。大约四分之一（4/ 18,22%）的应用程序提供专门的诊断功能，其中大多数具有治疗功能（9/ 18,50%）或综合功能（5/ 18,28%）。摄像头、触摸屏和麦克风是最常用的内置传感器。这些应用程序解决的健康问题包括呼吸系统、皮肤病、神经系统和焦虑症。结论：勤奋的移动健康应用程序库管理、医疗设备监管约束以及手机传感器架构的跨平台差异，都可能导致在管理的移动健康应用程序库中使用内置手机传感器的移动健康应用程序的可用性有限。然而，需要更多的努力来增加这类应用程序在管理列表中的数量，因为它们提供了易于获取的低成本选择，以帮助人们管理临床疾病。
Background: More than a million health and well-being apps are available from the Apple and Google app stores. Some apps use built-in mobile phone sensors to generate health data. Clinicians and patients can find information regarding safe and effective mobile health (mHealth) apps in third party-curated mHealth app libraries.Objective: These independent Web-based repositories guide app selection from trusted lists, but do they offer apps using ubiquitous, low-cost smartphone sensors to improve health? This study aimed to identify the types of built-in mobile phone sensors used in apps listed on curated health app libraries, the range of health conditions these apps address, and the cross-platform availability of the apps.Methods: This systematic survey reviewed three such repositories (National Health Service Apps Library, AppScript, and MyHealthApps), assessing the availability of apps using built-in mobile phone sensors for the diagnosis or treatment of health conditions.Results: A total of 18 such apps were identified and included in this survey, representing 1.1% (8/699) to 3% (2/76) of all apps offered by the respective libraries examined. About one-third (7/18, 39%) of the identified apps offered cross-platform Apple and Android versions, with a further 50% (9/18) only dedicated to Apple and 11% (2/18) to Android. About one-fourth (4/18, 22%) of the identified apps offered dedicated diagnostic functions, with a majority featuring therapeutic (9/18, 50%) or combined functionality (5/18, 28%). Cameras, touch screens, and microphones were the most frequently used built-in sensors. Health concerns addressed by these apps included respiratory, dermatological, neurological, and anxiety conditions.Conclusions: Diligent mHealth app library curation, medical device regulation constraints, and cross-platform differences in mobile phone sensor architectures may all contribute to the observed limited availability of mHealth apps using built-in phone sensors in curated mHealth app libraries. However, more efforts are needed to increase the number of such apps on curated lists, as they offer easily accessible low-cost options to assist people in managing clinical conditions.