Abstract
Smartphones have become an integral part of our daily lives, and numerous applications (apps) make use of the goniometer, which is comparable to a medical protractor. The aim of this study was to evaluate the availability, reliability and validity of medical apps using the goniometer function in smartphones. Sixteen goniometer-apps downloaded from Apple’s (twelve apps) and Google’s (four apps) app stores matched initial inclusion criteria (inclusion criteria: *gonio* or *rom*, specifically designed to measure angles) were assessed and compared to a universal mechanical goniometer by measuring an irregular, four-sided pyramid with distinct angles. Twelve iOS (Apple’s operating system) and four Android (Google’s operating system) apps were included. Ten of twelve iOS apps were showing an average deviation from the real angles of a maximum 1.8°; the values for Android apps did not exceed 1.3°. Fourteen out of sixteen apps were reliable and valid for measuring angles. Based on correct handling and adequate user-applicability of the on-board goniometer these apps can make a smartphone applicable for data acquisition in medicine. So far, smartphone apps for measuring angles have not been readily applied in clinical practice in hand surgery.
Highlights
Smartphones have become an integral part of our daily lives, and numerous applications make use of the goniometer, which is comparable to a medical protractor
The aim of this study was to investigate apps using the goniometer-function in smartphones, to analyze their availability, reliability and validity versus a universal manual medical-grade goniometer, and to evaluate the price tag and approval for use in Medicine based on the Medical Device Act of Austria
Five apps were excluded: one was a duplicate, another was a goniometer for use in stereophony (“MC Goniometer”), and three apps (“Forearm Goniometer”, “Frozen Shoulder Goniometer” and “Knee Goniometer”) were only applicable in the named joint regions and not suitable for measurements of the pyramid
Summary
Smartphones have become an integral part of our daily lives, and numerous applications (apps) make use of the goniometer, which is comparable to a medical protractor. The aim of this study was to evaluate the availability, reliability and validity of medical apps using the goniometer function in smartphones. Worldwide sales of smartphones were estimated at 986 million units in 2013 (+42.3% as compared to 2012), and accounted for 53.6% of total mobile phone sales in 2013. With a share of 31.0% Samsung dominates the smartphone market followed by Apple (15.6%) and other manufacturers accounting for 53.4% with each of them not exceeding 5%. Google’s Android has a 78.4% market share of the operating systems, followed by Apple’s iOS with 15.6% and the remainder Recent estimates anticipate over 500 million users applying smartphones in health-care related contexts by 2015 [4] with a steadily increasing availability [5–8]
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