A single call could reveal health of your lungs

WASHINGTON: Indian-origin researchers have developed a new health sensing tool that can accurately measure lung function over a simple phone call made with any phone -- not just smartphone -- from anywhere in the world.

The findings could be of special help for people in the developing world -- who have asthma, cystic fibrosis or other chronic lung diseases -- know how well their lungs are functioning without visiting a doctor or a clinic, which in some places can take days of travel.

"We wanted to be able to measure lung function on any type of phone you might encounter around the world -- smartphones, dumb phones, landlines, pay phones," said Shwetak Patel, professor at the University of Washington.