Smartphone App Could Help Diagnose Respiratory Diseases

The diagnostic app called ResApp is quick and cost effective. The app can be used in remote regions, providing doctors a diagnostic tool for respiratory conditions.

A smartphone app could diagnose respiratory conditions in patients with the sound of their cough.

The app called as ResApp was developed by Associate Professor Udantha Abeyratne at The University of Queensland. The app will undergo a trial at the Wesley Hospital Emergency Department, Queensland. The trial will involve 400 adult participants.

Acute Respiratory Disease Cases On Rise In India Due To Air Pollution: Health Ministry Report
Air pollution leads to a wide array of health effects, of which ARI has accounted for the maximum number of cases. Around 3.5 crore ARI cases were reported in 2014.

‘The app called ResApp could detect pneumonia, asthma, bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by recording and analyzing a patient's cough.’

The patient will have to record their coughs using ResApp. The recording coughs will be sent to a lab for analysis, after which the app will provide a diagnosis. Blood tests and X-rays will be used to cross-refer the diagnosis.

Dr John Feenstra, Wesley Hospital, said that the app offers a simple method for medical practitioners to identify more severe, life-threatening conditions such as pneumonia.

“People can still die of pneumonia in this day and age, and we would want to prioritize those patients,” he said.

Drug by GlaxoSmithKline Fails To Prolong Life In Patients With Chronic Respiratory Disease
While Breo did lower the risk of dying by 12.2 percent compared to placebo, the difference was not big enough to be deemed statistically significant.

The app is quick, cost-effective and enables immediate treatment.

A study that involved children found the ResApp was 90 percent accurate in diagnosing asthma, bronchiolitis, and pneumonia.

Management of Respiratory Diseases Beyond Drugs
A panel discussion on Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) of patients of respiratory diseases was held as part of the 20th National Conference on Environmental Sciences and Pulmonary Diseases.

People who have a cough for more than three weeks or wheezing, fever, and shortness of breath should see a doctor, said Dr Sean Pham.

Source-Medindia

App Diagnoses Respiratory Diseases Through a Cough Into a Smartphone
The app ResApp can diagnose respiratory disease conditions including pneumonia, asthma, bronchiolitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.