Lung function test over a phone call

Scientists, including those of Indian-origin, have developed a new health sensing tool that can accurately measure lung function over a simple call made using any phone. Most people in the develo ping world who have asthma, cystic fibrosis or other chronic lung diseases have no way to measure how well their lungs are functioning. “With SpiroCall, you can call a 1-800 number, blow into the phone and use the telephone network to test your lung function,“ said Shwetak Patel of University of Washington.

SpiroCall transmits the collected audio using a standard phone channel -as opposed to a sound file that is transferred by a smartphone app over the Internet. The team combined multiple regression algorithms to provide reliable lung function estimates despite degraded audio quality .

The team also developed a 3D printed whistle that can be used in conjunction with SpiroCall that changes pitch when the patient exhales.