The American company Pfizer has committed nearly $116 million to acquire a small Australian company that says it has developed a smartphone application that can accurately diagnose the Corona virus by analyzing the sound of coughs.
For nearly 10 years, Australian digital healthcare startup ResApp has been developing an algorithm that can diagnose respiratory illnesses simply by studying a patient’s cough sound. ?
Initially, the system was trained to diagnose pneumonia, but by 2019, researchers had shown that the technology could effectively distinguish asthma, croup, and bronchiolitis.
When the coronavirus broke out in 2020, the Australian company’s research team moved quickly to incorporate virus diagnosis through cough recognition technology. By early 2022, data from one of the initial tests had revealed impressively good results.
The experiment showed that the system could accurately detect 92% of the positive for coronavirus infection just from the sound of coughing. ?
Shortly after ResApp disclosed these findings, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer began negotiations to invest and acquire the company, initially offering about $65 million for the technology. And now, in an official acquisition announcement, Pfizer’s purchase of ResApp for $116 million has been completed.