The document discusses how smartphones are increasingly being used by doctors as replacements for traditional medical equipment like stethoscopes. An app developed by Peter Bentley allows iPhones to function as stethoscopes, and over 3 million people have downloaded it. However, regulations are currently hindering further innovations for turning phones into medical devices. Regulators want to update rules to encourage new technologies while protecting patients and doctors.

1. NEWS LESSONS / iPhone set to replace the stethoscope / Advanced
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© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2010
iPhone set to replace the stethoscope
Level 3 Advanced
Warmer
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Describe a stereotypical doctor. Concentrate on their physical appearance and on what he or she is
carrying and wearing.
Key words crossword
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Down
people or organizations whose job is to be certain that companies, systems, etc. act fairly and safely and
1.
follow rules (para 10)
the possibility to develop or achieve something in the future (para 4)
2.
a piece of computer software that is designed to do a particular job (para 2)
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a mobile phone that also works as a small computer, allowing you to store information and write letters and
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reports (para 1)
to be stopped by someone or something from making progress or developing (para 9)
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to start selling a new product or service to the public (para 7)
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machines or pieces of equipment that do a particular thing (para 5)
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the number of people who want to do
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something, such as use a product (para 6)
ways that information is shown on a
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computer screen (para 5)
a situation in which the rules are not clear
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(two words, para 8)
the invention or use of new ideas, methods,
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equipment, etc. (para 9)
a piece of equipment used by doctors for
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listening to someone’s heart or breathing
(title)
Read the clues to find the key words from the article and write them into the crossword.

2. NEWS LESSONS / iPhone set to replace the stethoscope / Advanced
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© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2010
iPhone set to replace the stethoscope
Level 3 Advanced
iPhone set to replace the stethoscope
Amelia Hill
30 August, 2010
The stethoscope – medical icon, lifesaver
and doctor’s best friend – is disappearing
from hospitals across the world as physicians
increasingly use their smartphones to monitor
patients’ heartbeats.
More than three million people have downloaded
a 59p application – invented by Peter Bentley,
a researcher from University College London –
which turns an Apple iPhone into a stethoscope.
Recently, Bentley introduced a free version of
the ‘app’, which is being downloaded by more
than 500 users a day. Experts say the software,
a major advance in medical technology, has
saved lives and enabled doctors in remote areas
to access specialist expertise.
“Everybody is very excited about the potential of
the adoption of mobile phone technology into the
medical workplace, and rightly so,” said Bentley,
who initially developed the app “as a fun toy”.
“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 health care in a dramatic
fashion – and we carry these massively powerful
computers in our pockets.”
Bentley’s iStethoscope application is not the only
mobile phone programme lightening doctors’
bags and transforming their practices: there are
nearly 6,000 applications related to health in the
Apple App Store. The uptake has been rapid.
In late 2009, two-thirds of doctors and 42% of
the public were using smartphones – in effect,
inexpensive handheld computers – for personal
and professional reasons. More than 80% of
doctors said they expected to own a smartphone
by 2012.
The trend looks likely to gain pace as younger
doctors enter the workplace. Some medical
schools issue students with smartphones. In
America, Georgetown University, the University
of Louisville and Ohio State University are
among those requiring undergraduates to
use one.
However, experts say they are being prevented
from exploiting the technology’s opportunities.
Bentley says that he is unable to launch a
new range of applications because of
out-of-date regulations.
“It’s much easier to develop technology than it
is to get permission to use it,” he said. “I could
create a mobile ultrasound scanner and an
application to measure the oxygen content in
blood, but the regulations stop me. We’re not
allowed to turn the phone itself into a medical
device, and what that precisely means is
currently a grey area in terms of regulation.
That’s the only reason we’re not seeing a flood
of these devices yet.”
Professor Ian Wells, head of the scientific
computing section in the department of medical
physics at the Royal Surrey County Hospital
in Guildford, agrees that innovation is being
hindered by regulations that are “still in
their infancy”.
Wells said: “The approach of the regulators is
not well worked out yet. There’s a wonderful new
world out there but we need to find a way for
regulators to protect patients and doctors, while
not impeding innovation, research
and development.”
The Medicines and Healthcare products
Regulatory Agency (MHRA) – the government
body with responsibility for standards of safety,
quality and performance in healthcare – recently
set up the Medical Device Technology Forum;
a group of industry representatives, regulators,
users and scientists, to help establish how to
regulate new technologies.
“This is such a complex area that we are
currently looking at every application on a case-
by-case basis,” said an MHRA spokesperson.
“We want to ensure that these new technologies
are effectively regulated while at the same
time removing any unnecessary obstacles
to manufacturers who wish to exploit new
technologies for the benefit of patients.”
European regulators are also striving to bring
their guidelines up to date. A group of regulators
from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland,
Sweden and the UK was set up last December
to develop guidance for software under the
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3. NEWS LESSONS / iPhone set to replace the stethoscope / Advanced
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© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2010
iPhone set to replace the stethoscope
Level 3 Advanced
European Medical Device Regulations. They are
expected to report at the end of the year.
Appliance of science
• Star Analytical Services has developed an app
that allows patients to cough into their phone,
and tells them whether they have a cold, flu,
pneumonia or other respiratory disease.
• OsiriX lets doctors look at X-rays, ultrasounds,
CT (Computerized Tomography) and MRI
(Magnetic Resonance Imaging) images on
handheld devices or mobile phones with special
software, enabling radiologists, for example,
to diagnose acute appendicitis from
remote locations.
• ERoentgen Radiology Dx helps radiologists
identify the most appropriate radiology exam for
a patient by searching a large database of signs,
symptoms and diagnoses to help them make
quick assessments.
• Instant ECG is just one app that analyzes the
most common ECG (electrocardiogram) results.
• AirStrip OB, an iPhone app, allows
obstetricians to monitor different stages of labour
and pregnancy even when they are not by a
patient’s side.
© Guardian News & Media 2010
First published in The Guardian, 30/08/10
Comprehension check
3
Choose the correct answer according to the information in the article.
Peter Bentley initially developed the stethoscope application ...
1.
a. … to help doctors in rural America.
b. … for fun.
c. … as part of his medical research project.
Smartphones are ...
2.
a. … cheaper than larger pieces of medical equipment.
b. … powerful devices which have the potential to save lives.
c. … currently only used by young doctors.
More than 80% of doctors ...
3.
a. … use the application.
b. … own a smartphone.
c. … expect to own a smartphone soon.
Some American medical schools ...
4.
a. … require that students use smartphones.
b. … have banned the use of smartphones.
c. … are developing their own smartphones.
Regulations are currently ...
5.
a. … hindering the development of medical applications.
b. … stopping smartphones from being turned into medical devices.
c. … leading to the death of patients.
Regulators want to ...
6.
a. … stop manufacturers exploiting technology for the benefit of the patients.
b. … make it easier for manufacturers to develop new technologies to help patients.
c. … slow down innovations.

4. NEWS LESSONS / iPhone set to replace the stethoscope / Advanced
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© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2010
iPhone set to replace the stethoscope
Level 3 Advanced
DNA structure described
a.
anaesthetic first used in surgery
b.
first human heart transplant
c.
mobile phones able to listen to and record heart
d.
and breath sounds
hygienic methods (such as sterilization) introduced
e.
classification of blood into different groups (A, AB, B, O)
f.
X-rays invented
g.
first rabies vaccine
h.
Webquest: Medical advances
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Look on the internet to find out about other important medical advances. Add them to your timeline.
Lexical sets (nouns)
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Find nouns from the article to write onto the word wheels.
medical equipment
and diagnostic tools
computers and IT
professions and
job titles
Discussion: Major developments in medicine
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The article calls the smartphone software “a major development in medical technology”.
Match these other major developments (a-h) to the dates on the timeline and then discuss in groups how
they changed the way medicine is practised and what effects they had on patients.
1885 : ____
1850
1800 1900 1950 2000
1842 : ____
1867 : ____
1895 : ____
1901 : ____
1953 : ____
1967 : ____ 2010 : ____

5. NEWS LESSONS / iPhone set to replace the stethoscope / Advanced
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© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2010
iPhone set to replace the stethoscope
Level 3 Advanced
Tip: If you teach outside of the UK, find out how much
59p is in your students’ currency, e.g. 59p = 71 Euro
cents. An online currency converter will help you find
the latest exchange rate.
1 Warmer
Teacher’s note: If students need help with this, tell
them to imagine that they have been asked to draw an
illustration of a doctor for a children’s book. What would
the doctor they draw look like?
2 Key words crossword
Across
uptake
3.
displays
7.
grey area
10.
innovation
11.
stethoscope
12.
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regulators
1.
potential
2.
application
4.
smartphone
5.
hindered
6.
launch
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devices
9.
3 Comprehension check
b
1.
b
2.
c
3.
a
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b
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b
6.
4 Lexical sets (nouns)
(suggested answers)
medical equipment and diagnostic tools: X-ray,
CT, MRI, ECG, doctors’ bags, stethoscope,
ultrasound scanner
computers and IT: microphones, displays, programme,
handheld computers, mobile phone technology,
software, application, smartphone, sensor, cameras
professions and job titles: scientist, regulator,
professor, obstetrician, researcher, radiologist,
physician, industry representative, doctor
Teacher’s note: You could divide the students into
three groups and give each group the task of filling in
one of the three word wheels. Then the information
could be exchanged in class. The students could be
asked to write example sentences for the words that are
new to them or that they are not confident with.
5 Discussion: Major developments
in medicine
1842: b
1867: e
1885: h
1895: g
1901: f
1953: a
1967: c
2010: d
Teacher’s note: Some of your students may want
to download the app to their iPhones. They should
be aware that a microphone is necessary to use the
application and that the app mentioned in the article
currently (in September 2010) only works with the
iPhone 4 and is not compatible with older versions.
KEY