RESEARCH
Soon you can record your cough on your smartphone and it will tell you if you have COVID-19. Researchers at at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne’s (EPFL) Embedded Systems Laboratory (ESL) are developing a new app, called Coughvid as an alternative to conventional tests. The app is expected to be released in the next few weeks.
David Atienza, a professor at EPFL’s School of Engineering and a member of the Coughvid development team said, artificial intelligence (AI) is used to distinguish between different types of coughs based on their sound.
“According to the World Health Organization, 67.7% of people who have the virus present with a dry cough – producing no mucus – as opposed to the wet cough typical of a cold or allergy.”
“The idea is not new. Doctors already listen to their patients’ coughs to diagnose whooping cough, asthma and pneumonia,” said Atienza.
Users only need to install the free app and record their cough. The results will appear immediately. While the app has a 70% accuracy rate, Atienza warns that Coughvid is not a substitute for a medical exam.
“People who think they may have the disease should still go see their doctor,” he said.
His team is currently gathering as much data as possible to train the app to differentiate between people with COVID-19, healthy people, and people with other kinds of respiratory ailments.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 patients who wish to contribute to the development work may record their cough at https:/coughvid.epfl.ch/ or on the mobile app Coughvid.
Here is an instruction on how to properly record your cough.
Source: EPFL
**All previous posts about COVID-19 here: https://sciencemediacentremalaysia.com/tag/covid-19/
You must log in to post a comment.