Smartphone-based Method Introduced for Evaluating Pneumatic Tube Systems

Investigators at the University of Virginia Health System (Charlottesville, USA) used accelerometer, chronometer, video, and illumination smartphone applications to evaluate the conditions during transport through the facility's pneumatic tube system following the discovery of some damaged blood sample tubes.

As the investigators were unable to locate a dedicated instrument for analyzing the tube system's performance, they put together a detection tool based on smartphone applications.

The phones were sent through the pneumatic tube system dozens of times and survived intact and fully functional. The worst damage has been some minor scratches.

While results of the investigation were not reported, the researchers highly recommended their smartphone-based method for use in other institutions.

The study was published in the June 2016 issue of the journal Clinical Chemistry.

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University of Virginia Health System