Imagine a future, where your phone or the wearable on your wrist can detect infectious diseases and other health conditions in advance of its symptoms. 

Sounds incredulous? This future is fast becoming a reality.

In 2020, Professor Michael Snyder and his group of researchers created an algorithm to notify smartwatch wearers of abnormal periods of stress, alerting them to the possibility of a viral infection. The system was tested during the pandemic and was found to successfully detect approximately 80% of COVID-19 cases at or before the onset of disease symptoms. 

Other scientists are researching the ability of dogs to smell diseases like cancer and Parkinson's, and teaching machines to do the same. Soon, there could be robot noses in phones that might end up saving lives when they notice a change of smell. 

More than six billion people own a smartphone today. If every single one of these phones were paired with a smartwatch, the possibilities for real-time health monitoring and early disease detection are huge. Health checks and diagnoses will no longer happen just at the doctor's clinic, but each individual will have greater insight and control into his or her own state of health.