Smartphones carry the same bacteria that is present on an individual’s body, which may allow the phones to be used as bacterial and health sensors, a new study indicates. A team of University of Oregon researchers notes that frequently-used phones capture most of their microbial makeup from index fingers and thumbs.

Only 17 participants took place in the study. Results were published recently in the open-access online peer-reviewed journal PeerJ.

According to sciencedaily.com, the study indicated that 82 percent of the most common bacteria on study participants’ fingers were also found on their phones. The study also found that women are generally more biologically closely connected to their phones than men.

Some of the most commonly found bacteria on participants and their phones include Streptococcus, a bacteria normally found in the mouth, along with Staphylococcus and Corynebacterium, both of which are frequently found on the skin.

Project leader James F. Meadow, a postdoctoral researcher in UO’s Biology and the Built Environment Center, said in a statement, “The sample size was small, but the findings, while intuitive, were revealing.” He continued, “This project was a proof-of-concept to see if our favorite and most closely held possessions microbially resemble us. We are ultimately interested in the possibility of using personal effects as a non-invasive way to monitor our health and our contact with the surrounding environment.”