BackgroundListening to lung sounds is a useful method for detecting new lung diseases, monitoring diagnosed patients, and checking-up on healthy patients. Devising a method to clearly and efficiently capture lung sounds, then analyze them all in one step will be a huge step forward in the field of pulmonology. We propose an easy-to-use, wearable device to clearly record and diagnose lung sounds as normal or abnormal. This will change the way physicians approach the treatment and care of lungs, and allow pulmonologists to remotely and more regularly check up on patients. This device would allow home users and remote ICU patients to record and share lungs sounds with nurses and physicians, and additionally provide an initial analysis and diagnosis of possible abnormalities of the sounds, based on a developed algorithm. Both chronically ill patients and healthy patients due for a regular check-up would benefit from the applications of this digital, remote stethoscope.
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Need StatementGiven the current lack of personal-use instrumentation for remotely monitoring and classifying lung sounds, it is imperative to develop an affordable, digital, and self-operable lung sound recording and classifying -- as normal, crackling, or wheezing -- device, in previously recorded sounds, for doctors and nurses to closely monitor the pulmonary activity of patients with a chronic lung disease.
Project ScopeEvidently, there is a need, by physicians and nurses working in telemedicine, for a digital, affordable and patient-friendly device that is capable of recording and classifying lung sounds so that they may better remotely monitor the pulmonary activity of their patients. By the end of April, we propose to have a working prototype of this device -- with the ability to capture and classify lung sounds -- along with the necessary software code and device design schematics. This prototype will need to be self-operable, able to filter out unwanted sounds, and the algorithm should classify sounds as normal or abnormal (i.e. wheezing or crackling).
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Our client is Dr. Wilman Ortega, a pulmonologist currently working for Mercy Virtual. Mercy Virtual has transformed the health care industry through advances in technology and telemedicine, by the implementation of remote hospitals and ICUs, as well as at home programs and care management services. The field of telemedicine and telehealth is a relatively recent development that has recently grown, especially within the past decade. It has proved to be beneficial to all parties involved, including hospitals, physicians, and patients, by reducing hospital labor costs, lowering physician turnover rates, and decreasing the time spent in the ICU or hospital rather than at home. An easy-to-use and wearable device would allow patients to correctly function it, allowing for both nurses and physicians to stay at a remote location instead of needing to physically be with the patient to place the stethoscope in the proper locations.
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Pioneering Cardio Pulmonary Medicine with Remote Patient Monitoring, Digital Health, Telemedicine and Health Coaching
Wilman Ortega MD is an experienced physician with specialties in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. Helping people with chronic cardiopulmonary conditions breathe better. He promotes using new technologies to empower patients take control of their illness by monitoring their symptoms regularly and communicating important changes to their healthcare providers in real time, in order to get treatment earlier. |