Health in your pocket

A new-generation mobile phone that gives you a health check-up - and delivers the results to your doctor straightaway - is under development at Leeds University.

From the comfort of home, patients can check their vital signs, receive nutritional advice, and keep an eye on their glucose and blood oxygen levels.

The phone ‘talks’ to wireless devices small enough to be slipped into a handbag when you go out, such as a blood pressure monitor strapped to the wrist. It then sends the results securely over the network to a remote computer where a nurse or doctor would analyse them within hours, and contact the patient if anything was wrong.

In a critical situation, the phone would automatically alert health professionals with a text message or phone call.

Research project leader Dr Alison Marshall from the Keyworth Institute said the software application built into the phone has the potential to revolutionalise the way we think about healthcare for the UK’s ageing population.