Background:  Many smartphone applications are currently available for neurosurgeons to use in integrating with their clinical practice, complementing with aids for patients, diagnosis tools and education in both neuroanatomy and neuropathology.

Purpose:   To provide a comprehensive review and comparison of apps available to neurosurgeons in the United States and Australia.

Methods:   Searches were made on Apple Inc App Store on both the United States and Australian stores and described in detail according to the website.

Results:   42 apps were found and compared in costs, ratings, functionality and app size. The majority of apps had no reviews, and there were only 2 apps that were not available on both the United States and Australian App Stores.

Conclusion:   While there are no significant differences between the United States and Australian App Stores for neurosurgical apps, there remains a shortage of high quality apps for use in clinical practice. However, there is ongoing improvement with the quality of apps for neurosurgeons.

Background: The prioritisation of patients with end-stage liver disease for liver transplantation requires a quantification of clinical disease severity. The Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score is used to prognosticate survival for these patients and is therefore useful to prioritise for transplantation. The MELD score utilises a complex equation, which is now available for calculation using a range of smartphone applications (‘apps’). There is however no published data on the precision of these app-based calculators in calculating a MELD score.

Methods: In a cohort of 46 adults patients awaiting liver transplantation, the precision of 14 free and pay-for-use Apple iPhone app-based MELD score calculators in calculating the MELD score was compared with the actual MELD equation using kappa statistics.

Results: Kappa statistics demonstrated agreement of 0.70 to 0.97 (mean of 0.78; 95% CI, 0.6 – 0.95) between the app-based calculators and the MELD equation.

Conclusion: This study showed substantial but not perfect precision of  app-based MELD score calculators compared to the actual MELD equation. This is an important finding in assessing the validity of app-based MELD score calculators and further studies evaluating the growing number and availability of app-based medical calculators are required.

Background/Aims: With the emergence of new technology (e.g., mobile device applications commonly known as “apps”) it is important to establish whether students have access to new technology and their attitudes towards its use prior to its implementation within a medical curriculum.  The present study examined medical students’ ownership of mobile phones with application support (i.e., smartphones), and their use of and attitudes towards medical applications.

Methods: All Monash University medical students in 2011 were invited to complete an anonymous online survey regarding mobile phones and medical applications.

Results: A total of 594 medical students participated in the study.  All students owned a mobile phone with 77% of them having a smartphone.  Seventy-six per cent of students with smartphones used medical applications.  Generally students had positive attitudes towards using medical applications.  The majority of students with mobile phones without application support would be prepared to obtain such a device to enable them to access medical applications.

Conclusion: Given students’ positive attitudes toward medical applications; this study suggests that these devices could play a more significant role within medical education.