More than three million doctors have downloaded an iPhone app which is replacing the stethoscope in UK hospitals.
The iStethoscope app, created by Peter Bentley at University College London, was originally developed as nothing more than a toy.
But now more than 500 users a day are downloading the free version of the application which experts say has already saved lives.
o use the app the iPhone is pressed against the chest where its built-in microphone is able to pick up on the heart's beat.
The new app could replace the stethoscope in some hospitals
The new app could replace the stethoscope in some hospitals
The user then shakes the iPhone to hear the last eight seconds of recording and see a phonocardiograph display and a spectrogram. The diagrams can then be emailed to a specialist.
'Everybody is very excited about the potential of the adoption of mobile phone technology into the medical workplace, and rightly so,' Dr Bentley told the Guardian.
'Smartphones are incredibly powerful devices packed full of sensors, cameras, high-quality microphones with amazing displays,' he said.
'They are capable of saving lives, saving money and improving healthcare in a dramatic fashion – and we carry these massively powerful computers in our pockets.'
Bentley said that future cheap iPhone apps for use by doctors are being held back by out-of-date regulations that prevents smartphones from becoming medical devices.
Dr Bentley said that he could create a mobile ultrasound scanner or an app to measure oxygen levels in the blood but is being held back by the regulations.
A spokesman for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which looks at how to regulate new technologies, said: This is such a complex area that we are currently looking at every application on a case-by-case basis.
'We want to ensure that these new technologies are effectively regulated – thereby protecting health and avoiding unnecessary deterrents – while at the same time removing any unnecessary obstacles to manufacturers who wish to exploit new technologies for the benefit of patients.'
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