Refining respiratory disease diagnosis via smartphone

ResApp Health (ASX:RAP), a developer of smartphone medical applications for respiratory diseases, has enrolled its first patient at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH), Perth, for a study which is designed to optimise and validate the company’s machine-learning algorithms. ResApp’s technology uses sound alone to diagnose and measure the severity of a respiratory condition, without the need for additional hardware.

PMH is the second site to participate in a study currently underway at Joondalup Health Campus (JHC), which has so far enrolled in excess of 225 patients (over 180 confirmed respiratory disease cases and 45 control cases). ResApp received approval to enrol patients in the second facility last month, with a target of approximately 400 patients at both sites by the end of 2015.

The additional patient data from increased enrolment is intended to increase the accuracy of ResApp’s algorithms for pneumonia and asthma. It will also broaden the validation to other common respiratory conditions, such as bronchitis, bronchiolitis and upper respiratory tract conditions. ResApp is working with The University of Queensland to analyse the data and expects to receive initial preliminary results in Q3 2015.

“Companies providing ‘direct to consumer’ telehealth services continue to grow at a rapid rate in the United States, all of which would directly benefit from the ability to accurately diagnose respiratory diseases remotely,” said ResApp CEO and Managing Director Dr Tony Keating. “Our comprehensive clinical study aims to validate our technology by providing robust clinical data to support regulatory submissions and lead to revenue-generating partnerships with telehealth service providers.”

ResApp Health (ASX: RAP) shares were trading 12.5% higher at $0.018 as of around 3 pm on Tuesday.