In African villages, these phones become ultrasound scanners

Lying on a church pew with his arm over his head, 6-year-old Gordon Andindagaye whimpered a bit - in fear, not pain - as Dr. William A. Cherniak slowly swept a small ultrasound scanner up and down his chest. Dr. Cherniak and Rodgers Ssekawoko Muhumuza, the Ugandan clinical officer he was training, stared at the iPhone into which the scanner was plugged, watching Gordon's lung expand and contract. "O.K.," Dr. Cherniak finally said. "What do you recommend?" Here in the west it's easy to grow cynical towards smartphones and technology, but the impact phones and smartphones having in third world countries - which often skip desktops and laptops - is astounding.