FDA Approves Imaging App

X-ray vision is coming to your iPhone.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first application for viewing images from CT, MRI and PET scans on iPhones and iPads earlier this month. The technology sends compressed radiology images on a secure network to a wireless device via Cleveland-based MIM Software Inc.'s Mobile MIM software.

With immediate access to secure, high-quality images, physicians won't have to wait for film or be at a full work station to make diagnoses, Dr. William Maisel, chief scientist and deputy director for science in the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, says in a FDA statement. The FDA cautions that the imaging app supplements--but does not replace--regular workstations.

The FDA reviewed performance tests measuring the brightness and resolution of images, along with studies conducted under different lighting conditions. The quality in "luminance levels," though, varies among different mobile devices and even different models of the same device, the FDA says.

An interactive contrast test that works in different lighting conditions alerts users if the image quality is too poor to be reliable.