India, April 25 -- A University of Texas at Dallas researcher and his international colleagues have developed an algorithm that might one day provide early medical alerts about the onset of asthma attacks or other respiratory problems.

The algorithm, described in a study published online Nov. 20 in the journal PLOS ONE, monitors a patient's breathing in real time and analyzes the frequency of wheezes. The researchers hope to incorporate their work into a wearable device.

"An automatic alarm could be sent to the patient - or the parents of children - for immediate attention," said Dr. Dohyeong Kim, professor of public policy, geospatial information sciences, and social data analytics and research in the School of Economic, Political and ...