A number of smartphone medical apps have recently emerged that may be helpful for the neurosurgical patient, practitioner, and trainee. This study aims to review the current neurosurgery‑focused apps available for the iPhone, iPad, and Android platforms.
Smartphone device use among the general population and by health care providers has been on the rise. The advanced technology and fascinating hardware available on smartphones allow them to offer various apps that have proven useful in the medical setting.
These apps also deliver portable and convenient methods of education for clinicians in training and patients. A recent survey found that 60% of physicians access Epocrates (a drug reference app) three times a day while 40% of physicians are recommending apps to their patients, however, more than half of the physicians surveyed do not know which apps are “good to share.” To date, the use of smartphone apps has been reviewed in a range of specialties but no comprehensive review of apps available for the field of neurosurgery has been done recently.The aim of this study was to review and categorize contemporary neurosurgery‑focused apps that are either helpful in clinical/academic practice or which facilitate education for patients and health care provider trainees on the iPhone, iPad, and Android platforms.
Two of the most popular smartphone app stores (Apple Store and Android Google Play Store) were surveyed for neurosurgery‑focused apps in December 2013. Search results were categorized based on their description page. Data were collected on price, rating, app release date, target audience, and medical professional involvement in app design. A review of the top apps in each category was performed.
Between December 1, 2013 and December 16, 2013, the United States Apple App Store and Android Google Play App Store were surveyed for neurosurgery‑related apps using the keywords “neurosurgery,” “neuro surgery,” “neurological surgery,” “neurosurgical,” “neurosurgeon,” “neurological surgeon,” “brain surgery,” “brain surgeon,” “spine surgery,” “spine surgeon,” “spinal surgery,” “back surgery,” “back surgeon,” “craniotomy,” “deep brain stimulation,” and “hydrocephalus.” For each app, data was collected on the number of reviewers, ratings, price, release date, and supported platform based on information in the app summary page provided by the app developer. Data on app release date was only available on the United States Apple App Store. If an app had multiple versions, the ratings and number of reviewers was collected for all versions of the app, not just the most current one. Based on the app summary page and screen shots, apps were grouped into seven categories (clinical tool, conference adjunct, education, literature, patient information, marketing, and reference) and summarized for clarity with results tabulated using Excel 2010 (Microsoft, Redmond, WA, USA). The target audience and medical professional involvement were also evaluated based on the app summary page and screen shots. If the app had a developer website listed in the app summary page, the developer website was visited and used to assist in assigning the app to a category and evaluating target audience and medical professional involvement. While the search keywords came up with many other apps that were not neurosurgery focused, these were omitted from this review as these were not helpful in clinical and academic practice, patient education, or education of neurosurgery residents and fellows. Non‑English apps, games, free “lite” versions of fully functional apps, neurology‑specific apps, and orthopedic‑specific apps were also excluded. The functionality of the top three apps with five or more reviews based on ratings within each category was reviewed. Applications were not purchased or downloaded.
The search resulted in 111 unique apps, divided into these 7 categories: 16 (14%) clinical tools, 17 (15%) conference adjunct, 27 (24%) education, 18 (16%) literature, 15 (14%) marketing, 10 (9%) patient information, and 8 (7%) reference. The average cost of paid apps was $23.06 (range: $0.99‑89.99). Out of the 111 apps, 71 (64%) were free, 48 (43%) had reviews, and 14 (13%) had more than 10 reviews. Seventy‑three (66%) apps showed evidence of medical professional involvement. The number of apps being released every year has been increasing since 2009.
The search resulted in 78 apps on the iPad, 80 apps on the iPhone, and 51 apps on the Android, after the exclusions. Some apps were replicated on two or three platforms and therefore only 111 unique apps were reviewed. The average cost of the apps was $23.06 and their prices ranged from free to $89.99. Of the 111 apps, 71 (64%) were free, 48 (43%) had reviews, and 14 (13%) had more than 10 reviews. Seventy‑three (66%) apps showed evidence of medical professional involvement either by a named clinician or organization
There are a number of neurosurgery‑themed apps available to all audiences. There was a lack of patient information apps for nonspinal procedures. Most apps did not have enough reviews to evaluate their quality. There was also a lack of oversight to validate the accuracy of medical information provided in these apps.
Source: PubMed