There's more to technology than entertainment. 3D TV's, cameras and game consoles are great but tech really gets interesting when it's used for medicine. Some of the greatest scientific advances have happened because of what are effectively gadgets; the microscope, the x-ray machine, the iPhone.
Yes, that's right the iPhone. I take back what I said about most of the Apple apps being talking cats and table hockey games actually I don't, most apps are talking cats and ice hockey games and as one of our readers suggested, fart soundboards. But the odd app comes along which is genuinely ground-breaking.
One of these is the istethoscope. This humble iPhone app which does what it says on the tin and is so good that it's starting to replace the real thing. The iconic doctors instrument used to listen to the patient's heart beat is making way for the iPhone.
The iStethoscope application is said to be particularly useful in remote areas and according to a report in the Guardian, it has been downloaded by some three million doctors.
The app, invented by Peter Bentley of the University College London was initially created for a bit of fun and now the program (which has been made free) is now being downloaded 500 times per day.
Apparently, in the future smartphones could potentially be used for other medical purposes, such as ultrasound scanning too.
Just wait for the iCure app that will be something.
Source T3