A simple phone call to save lives? This is what this news reveals study by researchers from the laboratories of the University of Washington (United States).
If the blood screening can detect lung cancer, it would also be possible to locate it thanks to a smartphone. The phone’s microphone detects sound and breath pressure and sends the data to a central server, which uses algorithms to convert the data into standard measurements of lung function.
Test usable on all phones
Researchers from the University of Washington Laboratories worked for 4 years to set up a mathematical model that interprets the voice and detects lung disease and lung cancer.
This SpiroCall device allows patients to measure their lung function during a phone call. It’s designed to work with any type of phone anywhere in the world, not just smartphones.
“We wanted to be able to measure lung function on any kind of phone you might encounter around the world, smartphones, landlines, prepaid phones,” explained Shwetak Patel, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and Electrical Engineering at the University of Washington.
“With SpiroCall, you can call a 1-800 number, blow into the phone, and use the phone network to test your lung function.”
The team tested medical data from more than 4,000 patients in the United States, India and Bangladesh, where clinicians measured lung function using both SpiroCall and a commercial spirometer.
This benchmarking data improved the performance of machine learning algorithms and researchers found that SpiroCall results met medical accuracy standards with a margin of error of 5-10%, due to the variability of the how a patient exhales during each spirometry test.
Read also:
A simple blood test to diagnose lung cancer
Soon a blood test for lung cancer?
Lung cancer: twice as likely to survive for non-smokers
