A Universtiy of Calgary researcher has developed a way for doctors to use iPhones to view medical scans and make remote diagnoses. (Dr. Ross Mitchell)Doctors all over Canada could soon use Apple iPhones to examine patients' diagnostic scans, thanks to a Calgary researcher.

Dr. Ross Mitchell, a University of Calgary medical biophysicist, created the specialized iPhone application, which was approved last week by Health Canada as a diagnostic tool.

Mitchell's medical image viewing system is designed to let physicians see images of scans to help make a diagnosis wherever they are using an iPhone.

"We have a strong belief that it's not enough to see our work published in a scholarly journal. We actually want to see it translated to clinical impact," said Mitchell, whose company, Calgary Scientific Inc., owns the software under the brand name ResMD.

U of C oncology professor Dr. Jay Easaw said the new technology is exciting.

"We can be at home and let's say it's three in the morning and we get a call saying that a patient presented to the emergency department, an MRI scan has been done," he said.

"We can call that up, take a look at it right from where we are and make a treatment decision immediately."

'We can call that up, take a look at it right from where we are and make a treatment decision immediately.'—Dr. Jay Easaw, oncologist

For now the technology is best suited for diagnosing brain diseases like cancer and stroke, according to Mitchell. But he said he hopes it will also be useful for illnesses such as breast and testicular cancer.

Mitchell also developed a new way to layer and analyze images — what he calls a "virtual biopsy." Several scans are grouped together to form a three-dimensional image, which can help track tumours, for example. But Mitchell says there will always be a need for physical biopsies.

"I see the virtual biopsy as being more complementary," he said. "I wouldn't hope that it would replace surgical biopsy because there's a lot of value in getting a piece of tissue."

With files from the CBC's Meghan Grant