JERUSALEM, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Israeli start-up company, Healthymize, said Friday it has developed technology that will detect deterioration in people who suffer from diseases of which symptoms affect the voice.
For now, the company based in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, is focusing on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients.
By using their smart phones, patients will go on with their daily lives and conversations. Voice analysis will be conducted and an alert is sent to a medical team who then initiates treatment. In countries with different medical regulations, an alert may also be sent to family members of the patient.
The app works either by running in the background of someone's phone or by getting voice samples a few times a day, addressing those people who have concerns about their privacy.
"People ignore the signs and will often put off seeking medical attention," Chief Operations Officer of Healthymize Maura Rosenfeld told Xinhua. "Most people do not monitor themselves at all and by the time they go to seek attention, they are well into the flare-up."
In such a flare-up, COPD patients are often short of breath and there are audible changes to their voice.
The technology embedded in the phone compares the voice samples to samples recorded at a time of remission for the patients.
"It's a simple way to do remote monitoring," Rosenfeld said.
"Sometimes you can hear in a patients' voice that they are experiencing respiratory deterioration," said Professor Gabriel Izbicki, unit director of the Pulmonary Institute of the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.
The company uses artificial intelligence and a sophisticated algorithm to predict a deterioration in a patient's condition.
According to the World Health Organization, COPD is the 4th leading cause of death in urban areas and the first cause of death in rural areas. In the United States, it is also the 4th leading cause of death. Treating patients at the beginning of a flare-up can prevent their subsequent hospitalization.
