Fifteen of the 25 patients were correctly identified as having acute appendicitis on 74 (99 percent) of 75 interpretations, with one false negative. There were no false positive readings. In eight of the 15 patients who had appendicitis, calcified deposits in the appendix were correctly identified in 88 percent of the interpretations.

All 15 patients had signs of inflammation near the appendix that were correctly identified in 96 percent of interpretations, and 10 of the 15 had fluid near the appendix, which was correctly identified in 94 percent of the interpretations. All five readers correctly identified three abscesses.

"The iPhone interpretations of the CT scans were as accurate as the interpretations viewed on dedicated picture archiving and communication system (PACS) workstations," Choudhri said.

Choudhri pointed out that patient privacy concerns would have to be addressed before any handheld mobile device could be considered practical for clinical use, but noted this technique has potential for improving emergency room care.

"We hope that this will result in improved patient outcomes, as evidenced by decreased rates of ruptured appendicitis, shorter hospital stays and fewer complications," he said.

Co-authors of the study are Thomas M. Carr III, MD, Christopher P. Ho, MD, James R. Stone, MD, Spencer B. Gay, MD, and Drew L. Lambert, MD.