ResApp Health has announced that its software ResAppDx has shown promise in the accurate diagnosis of adult pneumonia and other respiratory ailments based on cough sounds.
ResApp is a smartphone application for the diagnosis and management of respiratory disease, and is based on machine-learning algorithms that use cough sounds to detect and measure the severity of respiratory complications without additional hardware. Clinical trials testing its efficacy in adults and children are still ongoing, but early results in adults demonstrate accuracy and specificity in the diagnosis of pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and upper respiratory tract infection (URTI).
Recruiting is still ongoing for the adult trial at the Joondalup Health Campus (JHC) and the Wesley Hospital in Australia. For more information, visit the company website at www.resapphealth.com.au. The preliminary results were analyzed by a research team from the University of Queensland.
The trial includes 25 COPD patients (with non-infective exacerbation or emphysema), 43 patients diagnosed with acute or chronic asthma (some with concomitant URTI and allergic nasal obstructions), 71 patients with pneumonia (with or without URTI), and 20 patients diagnosed with URTI (with no clinically discernible lower respiratory tract involvement). The study also includes a control group of 27 smokers with no detectable respiratory disease at the time of measurement, and 57 lifelong non-smokers with no detectable respiratory disease at the time of measurement.
