It’s been a long time since I reviewed an app, but the one that I have been meaning to for the last year has been called Figure 1. (Free)
To sum it up succinctly, it’s Instagram for medical doctors. Created by Dr. Joshua Landy, a critical care doctor, it’s a mobile platform that allows medical images to be shared for educational purposes. It has recently received $4M in Series A funding led by Union Square Ventures, and there are constantly new features coming out that are promising.
At the heart of it, Figure 1 lets health care professionals do something they have been already doing better, share medical photos. From interesting xrays and ECGs to strange rashes and sometimes gory pathology, Figure 1 is also a community where people can comment and teach around these images.
It also addresses the concerns of patient privacy, by letting users de-identify images with black markers and boxes before they are uploaded. There’s also a built-in feature where you can ask for patient consent before uploading.
The interface is clean and simple. In the last year that I have been using this app, there has been tremendous growth and improvements. Over 100,000 health care professionals are in the community, and the interface has become better and better
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There’s also a feature where you can browse through a series of image. In this case a CT scan of the abdomen uploaded by penguinophile (who has many excellent radiology images) is posed as a question. The most interesting part is often the discussion that takes place and the educational experience of learning in a community.
You can also browse by anatomical location or specialty if there are areas that interest you.
Finally, the community is what makes Figure 1 unique and having a platform for users to upload images interact is what really drives the app. Pictured here is my profile and some of the pictures I have collected over the years. As you can see, you can have your profile verified for credibility.
I look forward to the many coming features including customized feeds depending on specialties and users, and better notification systems.
Join me on Figure 1 – a free medical image library for healthcare professionals. To sign up, visit: http://download.figure1.com/
N.B. – I am part of Figure 1’s beta testers, and have used a referral link in this post.
I’ve been using Figure 1 for a while, but because I signed up using my actual information (student – other) I am unable to comment or upload photos and I have some interesting photos to upload and I would love to be able to contribute to the conversations. That’s a bit frustrating because I really want to contribute to those teaching conversations that some of the pathologists and surgeons post. If you’re beta testing, is there any way to contribute the suggestion that they allow non-HCPs to comment, but perhaps require moderation of their comments before they are posted?
I’ve gotten quite good at reading CTs (considering I haven’t started med school yet!) thanks to this program – I can landmark from major structures and identify some abnormalities. Yesterday in one of my courses we were going over ECGs and ear significance and I was able to pull up some interesting examples. It is a fantastic program, I am really learning a lot from it and it reminds me why it is that I’m going into medicine – the culture of information sharing and lifelong learning. It is a fantastic app and I’m glad you’ve done a review of it!
Try messaging the admins at Figure1 to see if non HCP can add to the discussions. They’re always looking for feedback.