Healthcare professionals have long recognized the association of physical activity with mortality risk—those who engage in more moderate-to-vigorous activity have lower mortality rates. In a new study, researchers across the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have shown that smartphones suffice to monitor people’s walking activity. They used sensor data from 100,000 participants to construct models of health status and mortality risk.

Every year, more than one in three individuals aged 65 and older will experience a fall.

Falls are the most common cause of injury in older adults, and can create ongoing health problems. But treatment and awareness of falling usually happens after a fall has already occurred.

As a part of the NIH’s Women’s Health Initiative, researchers wanted to see if they could predict an individual’s risk of falling so that preventative measures could be taken to reduce this risk.

Embedded in our society is a cultural memory of the old-time family doctor, a medical practitioner who knows of your family, your history, and your daily life, and uses that knowledge to provide the most optimal care. One Illinois faculty member and his research team have been working to move closer to that goal by exploiting a piece of familiar technology—the smartphone that can now be found in the average American’s pocket.