Best practices and current implementation of emerging smartphone-based (bio)sensors – Part 1: Data handling and ethics

G.M.S. Ross; Y. Zhao; A.J. Bosman; A. Geballa-Koukoula; H. Zhou; C.T. Elliott; M.W.F. Nielen; K. Rafferty; G.IJ. Salentijn

doi:10.1016/j.trac.2022.116863

Best practices and current implementation of emerging smartphone-based (bio)sensors – Part 1: Data handling and ethics

G.M.S. Ross, Y. Zhao, A.J. Bosman, A. Geballa-Koukoula, H. Zhou, C.T. Elliott, M.W.F. Nielen, K. Rafferty, G.IJ. Salentijn

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Review article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Smartphones are ubiquitous in modern society; in 2021, the number of active subscriptions surpassed 6 billion. These devices have become more than a means of communication; smartphones are powerful, continuously connected, miniaturized computers capable of passively and actively collecting (private) information for us and from us. Their implementation as detectors or instrumental interfaces in emerging smartphone-based (bio)sensors (SbSs) has facilitated a shift towards portable point-of-care platforms for healthcare and point-of-need systems for food safety, environmental monitoring, and forensic applications. These familiar, handheld devices have the capacity to popularize analytical chemistry by simplifying complicated laboratory protocols and automating advanced data handling without requiring expensive equipment or trained analysts. To elucidate the technological, legal, and ethical challenges associated with developing SbSs, we reviewed the existing literature (2016–2021), providing an in-depth critical analysis of state-of-the-art optical and electrochemical SbSs. This analysis revealed the key areas to consider for emerging SbSs, which we will address in a set of review papers. Part I (this review) will consider (i) how the SbS data are acquired and processed and (ii) the implementation of privacy and data protection strategies to keep this data secure. Part II will then focus on (iii) the development and validation of biosensors and (iv) how to assess the usability and (potential) social impact of emerging SbSs. Finally, these insights are applied to generate proposed best practices to help guide the future ethical data handling and development of smartphone-based devices for analytical chemistry applications.

Original language	English
Article number	116863
Journal	TrAC - Trends in Analytical Chemistry
Volume	158
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2022.116863
Publication status	Published - 1 Jan 2023
Externally published	Yes

Funding

Still, it is interesting to consider how data is transferred from the connected potentiostat to the smartphone, which can be physically (through the data cable, or audio jack) or wirelessly (by Bluetooth, NFC, or Wi-Fi connection). In one study, researchers used smartphone audio channels (physically connected to a potentiostat by the audio jack) to control the potentiostat, and the smartphone microphone to measure the response [47]. One audio channel was used for powering the impedimetric sensor and for setting the potential, and the other audio channel was used to generate the stimulus for the sensor. Still, this approach was limited because the smartphone only supported two audio output channels, but needed to supply 4 signals (power, AC stimulus, DC bias voltage, and a control signal) which required reusing the audio outputs for different functions, limiting its current usability [47]. In another study, a Bluetooth-operated ‘universal wireless electrochemical detector’ (UWED) was developed where a smartphone was used as the user interface for setting the experimental parameters, following the result in real-time, and for transmitting the acquired data from the smartphone to the cloud [62]. Moreover, because the UWED wirelessly transfers data via Bluetooth, it is compatible with all modern smartphones [62]. Alternatively, electrochemical SbSs can be developed using commercial potentiostats and software, which can e.g., be connected to the smartphone by Bluetooth (or by data cable to the USB-C port) [63]. In such work, the potentiostat can be controlled by a dedicated companion app, and the user can view the results in real-time as a video on the smartphone screen [63]. Clearly, electrochemical SbSs offer versatile data transfer options. Moreover, these SbSs can be developed as low-cost, open-source devices, or can use commercial components to accelerate their development.The European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie gran agreement No. 770325 (FoodSmartphone).The European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 101016444 and is part of the PHOTONICS PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP (PhotonFood).Funding and support from the Key Laboratory of Intelligent Preventive Medicine of Zhejiang Province (2020E10004). This project has received funding from: The European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 101016444 and is part of the PHOTONICS PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP (PhotonFood). The European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie gran agreement No. 770325 (FoodSmartphone).

Funders	Funder number
Key Laboratory of Intelligent Preventive Medicine of Zhejiang Province	2020E10004
NFC
Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
Horizon 2020	101016444, 770325

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Ross, G. M. S., Zhao, Y., Bosman, A. J., Geballa-Koukoula, A., Zhou, H., Elliott, C. T., Nielen, M. W. F., Rafferty, K., & Salentijn, G. IJ. (2023). Best practices and current implementation of emerging smartphone-based (bio)sensors – Part 1: Data handling and ethics. TrAC - Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 158, Article 116863. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2022.116863

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Best practices and current implementation of emerging smartphone-based (bio)sensors – Part 1: Data handling and ethics

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