NU researchers developed Cough Analyzer mobile app

A mobile application for cough analysis was developed by School of Medicine and School of Engineering and Digital Sciences  researchers. The main purpose behind the Cough Analyzer, – this is the name developers chose for their application, is to record, analyze and differentiate cough sounds.

Researchers are confident that the app will be useful as a telemedicine tool, since users can store their personal health data in the application, a feature that can come in handy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The use of Cough Analyzer is simple: anyone willing to try the app can download it from the Appstore or Google Play. After registration, the application will prompt the user to record the sound of their cough. Audio recordings of all users’ coughs will be anonymously transmitted to servers, where a data archive will be created and analyzed using machine learning. The ultimate goal of the study is to identify patterns of automatic diagnostics using artificial intelligence algorithms.

“Improving health by coughing into a mobile phone. Our research team aims to combine artificial intelligence, mobile health and medicine to improve respiratory diseases diagnosis”, said  Alessandra Clementi,  Assistant Professor at NU School of Medicine and PI of the project. 

According to the developers, the Cough Analyzer application will perform three main tasks. It collects data for research, and it can be used as a self-monitoring tool to track changes in cough. In addition, the recorded audio data can be shared with the physician for consultation and accurate diagnosis.