Best practices and current implementation of emerging smartphone- based (bio)sensors- Part 1: Data handling and ethics

Smartphones are ubiquitous in modern society; in 2021, the number of active subscriptions surpassed 6 billion. These devices have become more than a means of communication; smartphones are powerful, continuously connected, miniaturized computers capable of passively and actively collecting (private) information for us and from us. Their implementation as detectors or instrumental interfaces in emerging smartphone-based (bio)sensors (SbSs) has facilitated a shift towards portable point-of-care platforms for healthcare and point-of-need systems for food safety, environmental monitoring, and forensic applications. These familiar, handheld devices have the capacity to popularize analytical chemistry by simplifying complicated laboratory protocols and automating advanced data handling without requiring expensive equipment or trained analysts. To elucidate the technological, legal, and ethical challenges associated with developing SbSs, we reviewed the existing literature (2016-2021), providing an in-depth critical analysis of state-of-the-art optical and electrochemical SbSs. This analysis revealed the key areas to consider for emerging SbSs, which we will address in a set of review papers. Part I (this review) will consider (i) how the SbS data are acquired and processed and (ii) the implementation of privacy and data protection strategies to keep this data secure. Part II will then focus on (iii) the development and validation of biosensors and (iv) how to assess the usability and (potential) social impact of emerging SbSs. Finally, these insights are applied to generate proposed best practices to help guide the future ethical data handling and development of smartphone-based devices for analytical chemistry applications.(c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Automated summary

Smartphones have become ubiquitous in modern society, with over 6 billion active subscriptions in 2021. They have evolved from a mere means of communication to powerful miniaturized computers capable of collecting and processing both passive and active information for and from users. Furthermore, smartphones are increasingly being used as detectors or interfaces in emerging smartphone-based sensors, enabling the development of portable healthcare and point-of-need systems for various applications. This article reviews the existing literature on smartphone-based sensors and discusses the technological, legal, and ethical challenges associated with their development, providing insights for the future ethical data handling and device development in analytical chemistry applications.