Your smartphone could do 300 years of cancer research in just THREE MONTHS while you're sleeping - here's how you can help

Vodafone customers are being recruited as part of a project to use their mobile phones while they sleep to help battle cancer.

Brits are being asked to download an app for a project looking at using machines to diagnose and recommend treatments for complex cancers.

Traditionally treatments have been decided by doctors based on the type of cancer tissue a patient has.

However new techniques are using “artifical intelligence” to decide on the best treatment by crunching data on how cancer has previously reacted in thousands of patients all with different genetic profiles.

Researchers at Imperial College London, who are working with Vodafone, have developed an algorithm that breaks down enormous datasets into small chunks for mobile phones to get working on overnight.

Researchers say a desktop computer running 24-hours a day would take 300 years to process the data that so far exists to be analysed. A network of 100,000 smartphones running six hours a night could do it in just three months, they claim.

Dr Kirill Veselkov, from Imperial’s department of surgery and cancer, said: “We are currently generating huge volumes of health data around the world every day, but just a fraction of this is being put to use.

“By harnessing the processing power of thousands of smartphones we can tap into this invaluable resource and look for clues in the datasets.

“Ultimately this could help us to make better use of existing drugs and find more effective combinations of drugs tailored to patients, thereby improving treatments.”

A new mobile phone can run up to 60 calculations, solving up to 24,000 problems in six hours if fully charged and plugged in.

The app is free to download and free to use for Vodafone customers, meaning it does not eat into monthly data allowances.

Andrew Dunnett, director of the Vodafone Foundation, said: “This innovative app gives everyone the chance to play a part in the fight against cancer while they sleep.

“We hope researchers are able to make breakthroughs in cancer research, ultimately saving lives.”

The app can also be used by phone users on other networks with users choosing how much data they wish to donate or connecting via wi-fi.

To download the app search for DreamLab in the App store for iOS or Play Store for Android.