Toronto-based Figure 1, which builds a photo sharing service for the medical industry, has garnered a reputation as the go-to source for connecting healthcare professionals. The app is referred to as the ‘Instagram for doctors’, allowing users to upload photos and seek guidance from other practitioners for various injuries or medical problems.
The company was founded by Joshua Landy mid-2012 when he discovered that, “doctors were already using their smartphones and other devices to text each other pictures, or to look up medical references.” Landy partnered with software developer Richard Penner and former journalist Gregory Levey to launch a platform for medical professionals to easily and safely share photos without compromising patients’ privacy.
The latest Figure 1 update, available now for both iOS and Android, is, according to the company, its “most important update yet.” Figure 1 has introduced the idea of paging, allowing doctors to instantly receive feedback from colleagues around the world.
The app is used by hundreds of thousands healthcare professionals who have cumulatively uploaded millions of pictures. While Figure 1 is not directly competing with the plethora of other messaging apps on the market, such as Snapchat, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, iMessage, and BBM, adding messaging into its offering will increase the value of this niche service.
This article was originally published on our sister-site, MobileSyrup.