Smartphone Based Point of Care Testing for Infectious Diseases in Rural Settings: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Diseases spread rapidly around the world and cause lots of deaths each year; most of these deaths occur in rural areas and low resource countries due to limited resources available for diagnosis, the remote location of central laboratories, and prolonged times to correctly diagnose patients to allow them access to proper medical therapy. Recently, we have developed a novel approach to diagnosing and managing infectious diseases using smart phone-based, point-of-care testing (POCT), which incorporates mobile phones as tools for quickly diagnosing patients using images taken by the phone and having the results processed off site via cellular or wireless networks. In this scoping review, we systematically searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar to identify relevant studies that met pre-established inclusion/exclusion criteria for smartphone POCT applications. The data generated by studies that met the eligibility criteria will be summarized through a process known as descriptive synthesis or thematic synthesis. We identified several POCT applications that can be used to diagnose and/or manage several infectious diseases, including malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, COVID-19, dengue, and hepatitis, utilizing varying technologies, such as the following: smartphone-assisted lateral flow assay readers; electrochemical biosensors; microfluidic lab-on-chip platforms; and artificial intelligence-based image analysis systems. Portable and affordable with quick turnaround time, these technologies require little infrastructure yet allow for real time transmission of collected data to support surveillance efforts. There are challenges with validating these devices for use on a larger scale and meeting regulatory compliance guidelines. Addressing the challenge of training the user and the infrastructure in which to deliver the service will be required for the applications to be applied at the population level. The findings presented here demonstrate the value of smartphone-based POC testing for diagnosing infectious disease in areas with limited resources.