Pneumonia is an acute respiratory condition that affects the lungs and is known to kill millions of person all over the world every year. 16 per cent of the persons who die from pneumonia are children. It is quite disheartening that in many parts of the world lack trained medical professionals and basic medical equipment, like X-ray machines, which are required to detect and treat pneumonia. Can reinventing the stethoscope help?
The stethoscope is literally the symbol of the medical community and no doctor, or medical examination is possible without a stethoscope. Surprisingly, the stethoscope has undergone minimal advancements in the last two hundred years since its invention, until now.
Sonavi Labs, formed by researchers at the John Hopkins University have developed an AI-based smart, innovative and cutting edge stethoscope. This new stethoscope includes smart noise-filtering technology which enhances the quality of sound of chest readings. This new device is also incorporated with AI-driven technology which helps in screen pneumonia automatically by picking up and listening to different patterns of breathing. This enables the new stethoscope to offer diagnoses.
This new digital stethoscope manufactured by Sonavi Labs comes with three major features which differentiate it from every other stethoscope in the market. These new digital stethoscopes are less sensitive to their placement on the patient’s body, incorporates active noise control which can function in any environment and helps in detecting any form of abnormal lung form. This new stethoscope helps in the identification of symptoms of respiratory ailments such as pneumonia.
This new invention is based on the earlier research conducted at the Johns Hopkins University, which showed how vital are lung sounds towards the diagnosis of pneumonia. The stethoscope incorporates an onboard microprocessor combined with an algorithm which is capable of cancelling external noises which can inhibit the doctor’s ability to listen to the patients lung and breathing clearly. Further, the stethoscope uses machine-learning technology which aids in differentiating persons with and without pneumonia. Sonavi Labs is currently in the process of launching these new digital stethoscopes, the Feelix, and the FeelixPro.
The Sonavi Labs is preparing its new device for regulatory testing and developing new partnerships which different hospitals and insurance companies. The start-up is also developing its AI-based stethoscope for home users towards helping patients to manage their chronic conditions and allowing doctors to monitor their patients remotely. The start-up aims to save lives with early detection of respiratory ailments, reduce visits to the emergency rooms and hospital admissions, and at the same time improve the workflow of medical centres and hospitals while offering patients the ability to communicate with their physicians from the comfort of their own home.
