CMOS Chip/Smart Phone Medical Tricorder, Apple? TSM? Imedical Ecosystem?

[Arthur Hanson]

This is but one example of the smart phone becoming the main platform for medical care, both in the field and in the hospital. Using a smart phone hooked to the cloud has the potential to lower the cost of medical equipment and lab test dramatically through replacing current displays, camera, processing and communications with comparatively standard smart phones and cloud computing. This is just the beginning and from what I have read, it looks like Apple will be the leader. This is one mega market that could allow even a company as large as Apple to double in size and benefit everyone world wide by lowering costs and improving care and diagnostics. I would not be surprised to see an Imedical ecosystem. Apple has the money, expertise, security, innovation and trust to be the leader in this area. I also have no doubt TSM as Apple's partner and their extensive skill in nanotech, will play a part is this, for it's to large an opportunity for TSM to pass up and leave to the competition. It's a no brainer to see this is going to become the hot sector and fierce competition will benefit everyone. If ever there was an area that needed innovation combined with cost control, it's medical.

Portable "tricorder" device spots cancer or heart attack biomarkers in minutes

 

[Daniel Payne]

Arthur,

Thanks for the link, I read the article and the referenced article, finding a couple of interesting tidbits:

1) Android - connectivity is not Apple, rather Android phones using a standard micro-usb connector, not the ever-changing connector on each new generation of iPhone.

2) AMS - not TSMC bleeding edge process node, but rather trailing-edge 350nm technology from Austria Micro Systems.

I agree that smart phones coupled to medical sensors along with their medical apps will certainly benefit our society with lower costs and earlier diagnosis for many known maladies.

I expect that the Android platform will dominate these applications instead of Apple, simply because of the larger installed base of Android devices. I also don't expect TSMC to be the dominant semiconductor supplier, because the vast majority of these medical sensors will be trailing edge technology in the Micron range, not the Nanometer range.

 

[Tanj]

I don't see why they would be tied to a brand of phone at all. Phones are poorly situated for medical monitoring. devices like watches, earbuds, and augmented reality visors have better sites for monitoring the body (eyes and ears are especially interesting) and they can bluetooth to anything, or even connect directly to the cloud. Why would a vendor with a great sensor lock themselves into a single market?

 

[davemill]

I also don't expect TSMC to be the dominant semiconductor supplier, because the vast majority of these medical sensors will be trailing edge technology in the Micron range, not the Nanometer range.

That's a really good point: sensors and other interfaces to the physical world are more naturally built on older nodes.

 

[Arthur Hanson]

The reason for the phone is the connection to the cloud, processing power, the screen and the camera. The phone is just the foundation for other dumb sensors so as to keep the cost down.