Revolutionizing Global Health: The Impact of Smartphones on Healthcare Innovations | Computer Weekly

Quick and affordable diagnostics are essential for good healthcare. Sadly, many people lose their lives each year because they can’t access necessary tests. This issue is particularly severe in low- and middle-income countries.

Shyam Gollakota, a professor at the University of Washington, is working to change this. He uses smartphones to create new diagnostic tools that could significantly improve healthcare access. “We want to use technology to help people everywhere,” he shares. His vision is to turn smartphones into the gateway for affordable healthcare solutions.

For his innovative work, Gollakota received the 2024 Infosys Prize. This award recognizes his groundbreaking efforts in mobile systems and machine learning. Along with a gold medal and a citation, he also gets a $100,000 prize and a month to collaborate with researchers in India.

One of his notable inventions is a smartphone app that detects sleep apnea, a disorder that can lead to serious health issues like hypertension and diabetes. Traditional testing methods can be expensive, but Gollakota’s app turns a smartphone into a sonar system. It sends out sound signals and analyzes the echoes to identify sleep apnea events. This technology is accessible to anyone with a smartphone, promising to help millions.

Gollakota’s research reaches beyond sleep apnea. His team is developing a smartphone tool to detect blood clots using the phone’s vibration motor and camera. This can help monitor vital health indicators like prothrombin time and INR, essential for understanding blood clotting.

Hearing loss is another global challenge he’s addressing. It affects about 5.3% of people according to the World Health Organization. To tackle this, he created low-cost wireless earbuds that screen for hearing impairment. These earbuds can detect soft sounds from the cochlea, the part of the ear that converts sound waves into signals. Early detection, especially in babies, is crucial to minimize lasting effects of hearing loss.

Gollakota’s creativity isn’t limited to healthcare. Inspired by science fiction, he also explores battery-free wireless communication through ambient backscatter technology. This method uses existing signals for energy-efficient communication, which could reshape wireless technology in areas like underwater Wi-Fi and power-line networks.

“I focus on solving problems that others overlook,” he shared during the award ceremony in Bengaluru.

His approach also includes enhancing hearing through artificial intelligence (AI). This technology lets users program their listening experience, making it easier to pick out specific sounds while drowning out background noise. This could greatly improve how people experience sound in various settings.

Gollakota’s achievements have earned him many accolades. He has been featured in MIT Technology Review’s 35 Innovators Under 35 list and Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list. He also received the US National Science Foundation Career Award.

Kris Gopalakrishnan, president of the Infosys Science Foundation, commended all this year’s laureates, saying, “They show amazing dedication and creativity in solving crucial global problems. Their work highlights the importance of a strong scientific community working towards a better future.”