Australian digital health company ResApp Health partnered with Bethesda, Md.-based security and aerospace vendor Lockheed Martin to support the Defense Department's health monitoring program.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a DOD office tasked with developing emerging technologies for the military, launched the Warfighter Analytics using Smartphones for Health program to build software that predicts when soldiers will develop various diseases. The program primarily assesses soldiers' health by continuously and remotely collecting data from smartphone sensors.
In April, DARPA awarded computer and network security company Kryptowire a $5.1 million contract to manage smartphone sensor data for the project.
Under the new agreement, ResApp Health will support the WASH program by providing its expertise in audio-based artificial intelligence algorithms. ResApp Health develops apps that use AI algorithms to diagnose respiratory diseases — such as asthma, bronchiolitis and pneumonia — based on the sound of a patient's cough.
"We are delighted to be working with Lockheed Martin to develop audio signatures and algorithms as key components in products to support the mission readiness and health of United States military personnel," Tony Keating, PhD, CEO and managing director of ResApp Health, said in a news release.
ResApp Health enrolled its first patient in a prospective study on using its app to diagnose respiratory diseases in children in early 2018. Its app is not sold in the U.S.