E-Stethoscope Picks up Good (and Bad) Vibrations

A medical device used to survey lung sounds to monitor for signs of respiratory distress has received FDA clearance. RESP, a technology developed by Philadelphia-based Strados Labs, attaches to a patient’s chest and collects and analyzes acoustic data based on the sound of them breathing.

“This wearable technology will allow us to follow our patients in healthcare settings more effectively, by providing regular interval listening between clinician visits, by archiving the patient’s lung sounds for future comparisons and by reducing the variability in auscultatory documentation that presents a major problem both in patient care and in clinical trials,” explained Mitchell Glass, the Chief Medical Officer of Strados Labs.

Much like the stethoscope, an acoustic medical device invented in the 1800s, RESP listens in on the human body's internal soundscape, called auscultation. It cuts out background noise while also picking up coughs and wheezing, recording this data on the cloud for physicians to access remotely. 

Why do doctors always have a stethoscope around their necks? Auscultation is one of the main techniques used in respiratory examinations for assessing the passage of air through the trachea-bronchial tree. This can be particularly helpful for diagnosing respiratory disorders such as asthma. During the COVID-19 crisis, as hospital staff became increasingly stretched thin, technologies that enable physicians to track respiratory patterns remotely have proven their worth. In addition, this will help patients reduce the number of in-person hospital visits.

“You want to check on your patients as much as possible, but when your patient ratio is high, it’s difficult. To have someone on the outside monitoring, with the ability to call and notify you when your patient is declining, would be so helpful,” explains a nurse from a hospital surgical unit.

Source: Strados Labs, Medgadget.