ResApp: A phone app that can detect COVID-19

Scientists have developed an application that can detect whether you’ve been infected with COVID-19, and that too with 92 per cent accuracy.

The application named ResApp uses machine learning to analyse the sounds of the user’s cough to find out whether you have COVID-19. According to details the application functions with an accuracy of 92 %.

Professor Catherine Bennett who is a member of ResApp’s Covid-19 board said, ‘The sheer scale of this global pandemic and the likely evolution to an endemic disease means we need more scalable diagnostic tools that can balance our current over-reliance on rapid antigen and PCR tests.’

She added, ‘By rapidly ruling out Covid-19, ResApp’s COVID-19 test would significantly reduce the number of rapid antigen and PCR tests required, while still maintaining the disease surveillance needed to manage the continued impact of Covid-19.’

ResApp uses machine learning to detect key signatures in coughs.

The developer, to test the app, enrolled 741 patients in India and US, including 446 with COVID-19.

To test it, the developer enrolled 741 patients in the US and India, including 446 with Covid-19. The participants were then asked to take a survey and cough into the application.

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The ResApp uses machine learning to detect key signatures in coughs (stock image)

According to the results, the application worked with an accuracy of 92%. For comparison, lateral flow tests can detect around 72 per cent of symptomatic cases and 58 per cent of asymptomatic ones.

The developers are hopeful that the application can be used in areas where frequent testing is required.

‘The simplicity, ease of use and unlimited scalability of ResApp’s test will be welcomed by public health officials around the world,’ Professor Bennett said.