Think your employee has taken a sickie? Doctors could soon diagnose the flu over the phone

A new type of software being developed in Queensland could lead to doctors diagnosing patients with the flu over the phone.

The new technology, which is being developed by both Australian and US researchers in Queensland, would see patients cough into mobiles phones in order to receive a diagnosis.

Udantha Abeyratne from the University of Queensland is working on methods to fit smartphones with tiny microphones that would allow doctors to read the medical data stored in a recording of a cough.

He told the Courier-Mail the new technology was “unorthodox… the target is to build something that can do screening in the field”.

Abeyratne, who has previously worked on technology designed to analyse snoring in order to diagnose sleep apnea, was among a group of 76 researches to win a $US100,000 grant from billionaire Bill Gates’ research foundation.

The technology works by analysing the data contained in a recording of the last 100-150 milliseconds of a cough, which regularly contains sounds that can help medical professionals diagnose illnesses.

STAR Analytical Services, based in Massachusetts, is working on a similar type of software, while company researcher Jaclyn Smith saying the technology is important.

“It’s the most common symptom when a patient presents, and we are relying on doctors and nurses with good old technology from the 19th century.”

“There is no question that there is a lot of variability in the coughs of people. But if they can find certain parameters to use coughs to diagnose disease, that could be fabulous. It could really improve disease diagnosis and help improve people’s access to health care.”