TechSocial Series - March 2026

Abstract

How can a smartphone function as a medical device? In this talk, we explore how AI and mobile technologies can support health diagnostics and disease surveillance, expanding access to care; especially in low-resource settings such as community healthcare and low- and middle-income countries.

Our team, part of the Digital Health Hub for AMR (https://www.digitalamr.org/), has been tasked with developing a prototype for AI-enabled diagnostics on mobile devices. The solution is built around three core functions: capture images of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) used in point-of-care testing, classify them on-device, even when offline, and connect these results with electronic patient records securely.

We discuss how combining RDTs with AI models deployed on smartphones can improve the accuracy and consistency of test interpretation while making clinical and public health monitoring more widely accessible. We also show how the use of Open Neural Network Exchange (ONNX) technologies allows us to run on-device multiple AI-models efficiently, while giving data scientists and AI researchers freedom to work in their preferred frameworks. We address the challenges around secure integration with electronic patient records, and our architecture using SMART (Substitutable Medical Applications and Reusable Technologies) and FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) technologies. We also reflect on the implications around usability and clinician engagement, and the role of human-computer interaction and UX design methodologies in shaping the development process of AI-driven mobile apps for health.

Attendees will have the opportunity to test the prototype at the event.

Free regsitration available via Pretix

Head to our TechSocial Series hompage for more information about future dates and speakers

Map