iSonea's Wheezometer

Annapolis, Maryland-based asthma monitoring technology company iSonea has inked a deal with Qualcomm Life, a subsidiary of Qualcomm, to combine iSonea's proprietary Acoustic Respiratory Monitoring (ARM) devices and forthcoming mobile health asthma management offerings with Qualcomm's recently launched 2net platform.

The deal will enable users of iSonea's asthma monitoring devices to "automatically and securely link" asthma symptom data via Qualcomm's 2net platform to a cloud-based portal that physicians and caregivers can access. iSonea will leverage Qualcomm Life's 2net Hub, a plug-and-play connectivity gateway.

iSonea's core offering today is a medical device called the Wheezometer, a point of care, handheld device that "analyzes 30 seconds of breath sounds using advanced signal processing algorithms to detect, quantify and objectively document the presence of wheeze and its extent," according to iSonea's website. The company is currently seeking an over-the-counter (OTC) status for the Wheezometer from the FDA.

At the end of last year, iSonea's CEO Michael Thomas explained his company's future plans to a radio host in Australia. Thomas said that once iSonea receives an OTC status from the FDA, it will be able to launch its smartphone initiative. While iSonea is currently a medical device company that makes its own hardware, it believes that at its core it is a smart algorithm and software company. It intends to become hardware agnostic.

iSonea believes smartphones will allow them to do that.

Assuming the FDA grants the Wheezometer OTC status based on the bench validation study the company currently has underway, iSonea plans to create smartphone-based versions of the medical device for iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry devices, Thomas said. Thomas said since there were about half a billion smartphones sold the world over in the past year, and there are expected to be about 1 billion smartphones sold in 2015, the smartphone has become the most efficient way for iSonea to get its technology to the 300 million people worldwide who have asthma.

During his radio interview, Thomas hinted at the impending strategic partnership with a global wireless technology communications company, which we now know is Qualcomm. He also mentioned a potential partnership with a pharmaceutical company. Of course, Thomas did not say which one.

Pure speculation, but worth noting that GlaxoSmithKline is one pharmaceutical company that has touted smartphone apps for asthma management in recent months.

Read more about the Qualcomm-iSonea partnership in the press release below:

SEVERNA PARK, Md., Feb 15, 2012 -- Medical technology company iSonea Ltd., announced that it will design and market a home and mobile asthma monitoring platform with global telecommunications corporation Qualcomm Life Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated. The new technology will combine iSonea's proprietary Acoustic Respiratory Monitoring (ARM) devices and mobile health asthma management systems with Qualcomm's 2net platform.

The integration will automatically and securely link patient asthma symptom and trend monitoring data to a cloud-based portal for physicians and caregivers, to improve asthma management and outcomes.

The effort leverages Qualcomm Life's 2net Hub, a plug-and-play connectivity gateway to the cloud-based 2net platform data server, to collect and transmit patient health data from iSonea's monitoring devices. The technology will ultimately allow physicians to securely access patient monitoring data, review treatment progress and medication adherence and adjust patient action plans accordingly. Family and caregivers will be able to view trends for reassurance about patient care.

"Asthma is a widespread and growing condition that affects 300 million people worldwide and represents a major healthcare cost burden," said Michael J. Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of iSonea Limited. "With our smartphone platform and Qualcomm's end-to-end wireless systems expertise, we will provide asthma patients with the ability to monitor and report breathing distress symptoms triggered by environmental factors, as well as their response to treatment. Better daily monitoring can lead to improved medication compliance, lower healthcare costs and improved chronic management of asthma. For patients or family members, better monitoring also means more peace of mind."

Qualcomm's wireless solutions will enable iSonea's ARM-based mobile asthma management products, in a cost-effective and scalable manner, to:

-- Connect and securely transmit data to a cloud-based site for analysis;

-- Provide protected data access to physicians, caregivers, family and patients; and

-- Give consumers an easy-to-use dashboard to view and manage their asthma trends.

iSonea's Senior Vice President of Operations Steve Tunnell added, "Qualcomm understands the need for wireless solutions that will link with self-monitoring devices to allow data sharing in the new 'smart home.' Integrating our acoustic respiratory monitoring sensors and software with the Qualcomm 2net Hub will help people share their asthma management data with physicians, family and caregivers, alerting them to critical changes."

About iSonea Limited

iSonea Limited (asx:ISN)(otcqx:ISOAY) is an emerging medical technology company developing innovative, non-invasive devices and mobile health apps to improve the management of chronic, costly respiratory disorders such as asthma and COPD. By leveraging iSonea's proprietary Acoustic Respiratory Monitoring(TM) (ARM) technology with its AsthmaSense(TM) mobile applications, iSonea is turning smartphones into medical devices--enabling anyone, anywhere, at any time to monitor breathing distress symptoms, in order to take action. iSonea's ARM devices have been cleared for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Australian TGA and the European Union CE. For more information, please visit www.iSoneaMed.com .

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm QCOM +0.45% is an American global telecommunications company which designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access (CDMA) technology and other technologies. It is headquartered in San Diego, California, USA.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements made in this announcement are forward-looking statements. These forward looking statements are not historical facts but rather are based on iSonea's current expectations, estimates and projections about the industry in which iSonea operates, and its beliefs and assumptions. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "guidance" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements and should be considered an at-risk statement. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, particularly those risks or uncertainties inherent in the process of developing technology and in the endeavour of building a business around such products and services. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond the control of iSonea, are difficult to predict and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements. iSonea cautions shareholders and prospective shareholders not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect the view of iSonea only as of the date of this announcement. The forward-looking statements made in this announcement relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. iSonea will not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions or updates to these forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances or unanticipated events occurring after the date of this announcement except as required by law or by any appropriate regulatory authority.

SOURCE: iSonea Limited