Scientists design app to help boost cancer research while smartphone user is asleep (Videos)

A new smartphone application to help speed up ongoing cancer research has been launched by Vodafone Foundation and the Garvan Institute of Medical Research.

Dubbed DreamLab, the free app uses the processing power of an idle phone to fast track research into breast, ovarian, prostate and pancreatic cancer. It works by automatically downloading and processing tiny research problems while the user sleeps. It then sends the results back to the research team at Garvan.

The smartphone is a small but powerful computer, according to Vodafone Foundation. “What if you could help by speeding up cancer research, simply by going to bed? If just 1,000 people used the app, cancer puzzles would be solved 30 times faster,” the foundation said.

“There are many important research questions we’d like to ask, but some need so much computing power that it would cost too much, or take us years and years. DreamLab gives us free access to a dedicated virtual supercomputer to accelerate our cancer research, giving more hope to patients and their families,” said Dr Warren Kaplan from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research.

According to Vodafone Foundation, the app only works when the phone is fully charged. App users need not worry about privacy, as it will not access personal information. While app processing is ongoing, phone owners will still be able to use their handsets.

Since DreamLab is an Internet-based app, it needs data to work. For Vodafone Australia customers, the data used for solving research problems is totally free on the Vodafone network in Australia. However, other functions in the app might use a very small amount of data which the user will be charged for. Roaming incurs international rates.

The app is currently only available for Android users and may be downloaded for free at Google Play.

Cancer continues to be a critical health problem in Australia. According to Cancer Council Australia, before the age of 85, 33 percent of women and 50 percent of men are at risk of developing the disease.

In addition to ongoing cancer research, a growing number of cancer-related smartphone apps has been released in recent years. According to the ABC, in April 2015, researchers from Harvard Medical School designed an app that can be used to diagnose cervical cancer and cases of lymphoma.

The smartphone app harnesses several technological advances, including what is essentially a kind of miniature microscope. It works by introducing samples of blood or saliva into a small cartridge attached to a smart phone. However, the research team that developed the app said it requires further testing, as raw data from the application must be processed by a computer and sent back to the smartphone, which poses privacy risks.

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