Personal Genome Interpretation Now Offered on Smartphones as Diagnostics Apps Penetrate Market

Accessing and understanding one’s own genetic information is now just a push of a smartphone button away. The smartphone app GeneG allows users to browse their genome. Such apps are part of a larger trend of bringing access to laboratory tests and test results directly to patients through mobile technology platforms. GeneG was created by Noam Shomron, Ph.D., from Tel Aviv University (Israel) and allows individuals to upload their whole-genome sequencing data to a Web site for analysis, with results available on mobile devices. Identified genomic variations will be displayed and linked to databases such as PharmGKB database for sensitivity to drugs and genomewide association studies for predicting genetic diseases. As new analytical tests are developed, they are integrated into software updates, and users can apply them for updated analysis of their genome right away. “If we give this power to the general public, it will put pressure on the medical field to catch up with this information,” Shomron says in a statement. He believes having this data easily accessible will advance the adoption of personalized genomics, particularly pharmacogenomics. For more on development of mobile health apps and their regulation, please see the special focus section beginning on page 9.