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Coughing into a smartphone may soon be enough to diagnose breathing problems, such as asthma or lung infections.
Australian scientists have developed a smartphone app, called ResApp, which badyzes the sound of a child's cough to determine the cause.
Technology tests showed that she could diagnose asthma, croup, pneumonia, lower respiratory tract diseases and bronchiolitis with up to 97% accuracy, according to an article published in the medical journal Respiratory research Thursday.
Watch the video above.
The article's co-author, Dr. Paul Porter, says that even for the most experienced doctors, it can be difficult to differentiate respiratory disorders in children.
Combination of disciplines
"This study shows how new technologies, mathematical concepts, machine learning and clinical medicine can be successfully combined to produce new diagnostic tests that draw on the expertise of many disciplines," said Dr. Porter. .
To develop the application, researchers from Curtin University in Western Australia and the University of Queensland have used speech recognition technology similar to that used by Siri and Alexa, which they trained in the recognition of the characteristics of the cough.
The researchers then used the application to clbadify the cough of 585 children aged 29 days to 12 years who were being cared for in two hospitals in the state of Washington.
They asked the children to cough in the application, and then compared the results to a traditional diagnosis.
Appropriate drugs
"Our app is able to accurately diagnose respiratory disease just like a pediatrician," said Tony Keating, ResApp's chief executive.
We hope that the application will allow children to be treated with the appropriate medications sooner if necessary.
"As the tool is not based on clinical investigations, it can be used by health care providers of all levels of training and skills," Dr. Porter said.
"However, we recommend that the tool be used, where possible, in conjunction with a clinician to optimize clinical accuracy."
Doctors warn that he can not replace them
The Australian Medical Association has warned that such technologies should not replace doctors.
Instead, it should be used by physicians as a tool to improve their practice, said Dr. Chris Zappala, thoracology specialist and vice president of WADA.
"I do not think it's more accurate than a pediatrician because they used the pediatrician as a reference in the test.
"This is how the precision of the machine has been established. This is against the advice of our clinicians, "said Dr. Zappala at 7NEWS.com.au.
"Anything that can help a clinician make a decision is not a bad thing, but if I used it in isolation, it clearly would not be a solution."
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