Smartphones are becoming increasingly versatile thanks to the wide variety of sensor and actuator systems packed in them. Mobile devices today go well beyond their original purpose as communication devices, and this enables important new applications, ranging from augmented reality to the Internet of Things. Personalized diagnostics is one of the areas where mobile devices can have the greatest impact. Hitherto, the camera and communication abilities of these devices have been barely exploited for point of care (POC) purposes. This short review covers the recent evolution of mobile devices in the area of POC diagnostics and puts forward some ideas that may facilitate the development of more advanced applications and devices in the area of personalized diagnostics. With this purpose, the potential exploitation of wireless power and actuation of sensors and biosensors using near field communication (NFC), the use of the screen as a light source for actuation and spectroscopic analysis, using the haptic module to enhance mass transport in micro volumes, and the use of magnetic sensors are discussed.
Keywords: biosensors; molecular methods; point of care devices; smarthphone-based diagnostics.