Doctors may soon be able to diagnose respiratory illnesses in patients hundreds of kilometres away using a mobile app invented in Australia and backed by Bill and Melinda Gates.
Perth-based company ResApp Health is trialling technology that allows doctors to diagnose pneumonia, bronchitis, pulmonary disease and asthma when patients cough into their phone, reducing the need for face-to-face consultations.
The app, which is the first of its kind and was developed by University of Queensland researchers, uses an algorithm that recognises an illness using only sound.
ResApp chief executive Tony Keating said the company holds the exclusive licence to develop the technology that was built with financing from the Gates Foundation and is expected to be released in 2016.
"The technology was initially developed to help diagnose pneumonia in the developing world," Dr Keating said.
"We thought it could also be used across the globe via a telehealth app."
The company, which was re-listed on the Australian stock market on Tuesday after being acquired by Narhex Life Sciences in February, is aiming to gain a foothold in the telehealth industry, which is expected to grow to a global worth of an estimated $29 billion this year.
Dr Keating said the money raised from the company's share market float would go towards bringing the app to the public after a number of trials are complete.
The company is targeting the Australian and US markets where an estimated six million and 101 million trips a year, respectively, are made to GPs for respiratory illnesses.
"We're optimistic for a release date in the second half of next year," he said.
ResApp shares began trading at 2.3 cents, up from the two cent offer price investors paid during the company's oversubscribed $4 million initial public offering.
The stock closed up 3.13 per cent at 2.2 cents.
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