Getting smart with coagulation

Contrary to the inherent meaning of the term, smartphones are no longer devices used for only making phone calls, as their usage is now widespread for hundreds (thousands?) of other reasons. Smartphones are probably the devices that we use most frequently in our day-to-day lives. Smartphones are always with us, and they hence represent the most practical tool that can be used for health monitoring, with a kaleidoscope of vital parameters that can be captured, analyzed, or even remotely transmitted, including lab tests, as predicted by one of us a decade ago. Their possible usage for monitoring anticoagulant therapy should therefore be seen as another important opportunity, which thus extends their usage for chronic disease monitoring (e.g., for measuring hemoglobin in patients with anemia, glycosylated hemoglobin in those with diabetes, and so forth). Nonetheless, some important aspects still need to be defined before they will be ready for prime time in VKAs monitoring (e.g., is self-adjustment of VKA therapy reliable using the device? How does one check the proper function of the device? What is an acceptable quality control procedure on the device? Should there be intermittent correlation with a well maintained commercial POC or laboratory-based INR to ensure ongoing reliability? What about regulatory approvals or oversight? etc.).