Google has acquired Seattle-based digital health startup Senosis Health for an undisclosed amount, according to a report from Geekwire.
Senosis Health was founded by University of Washington computer scientist Shwetak Patel, aiming to use smartphones as patient monitoring devices, collecting health metrics and providing services such as diagnosing pulmonary function, hemoglobin counts and other critical health information, according to the report.
Patel has sold previous startup ventures to major companies including Belkin International and Sears, GeekWire reported.
The company produces a number of smartphone applications, including SpiroSmart, Spirocall, HemaApp and OsteoApp, all of which are under review from the FDA, according to the report.
The applications utilize equipment built into smartphones, including advanced cameras, accelerometers and microphones to perform diagnostics that the tools were not originally designed for.
“Those sensors that are already on the mobile phone can be repurposed in interesting new ways, where you can actually use those for diagnosing certain kinds of diseases,” Patel said, according to GeekWire.
Google has not yet commented on the acquisition, or where the company will end up under its parent company Alphabet (NSDQ:GOOGL), which has a number of subsidiaries, including the recently-launched Verily Life Sciences.
Senosis was in the process of raising Series A funds when it was acquired, having previously functioned off of more than $1 million from a Small Business Innovation Research program.