StethoMe – an electronic stethoscope will enable remote examinations

Poznan scientists have developed an electronic version of the device, which is one of the first that a doctor takes when visiting a clinic. It is about a stethoscope that, thanks to innovative applications, will be able to be used from a distance.

Researchers from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan. The researchers from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan integrated a traditional stethoscope with a thermometer and a mobile app, and the result of this work is StethoMe. Thanks to this device, the patient himself will mohead to conduct auscultation tests of the lungs and heart, and then send them to a specialist using the app.

The device a little roIt differs in appearance from a traditional stethoscope. First, there is no gorne element ending in headphones – It is so called. lyra. The only thing left is the stethoscope head itself, whichora is saturated with electronics. StethoMe fits in the palm of your hand and, most importantly, allows you to perform examinations at a distance.

Examination of the electronic version of the stethoscope nothing rois different from the same process during a face-to-face visit to the doctor. StethoMe should be applied to the body and then breathed deeply. Then algorithms get to work, whichore continuously analyzing the data collected during the survey and initially assessing what the patient’s condition is. The device is connected to a smartphone application, on which theore can send the results of examinations, and through a smartphone the patient can send them further to a specialist. The application also has teleconferencing capabilities, thanks to which theorej the doctor can collect more necessary information.

Work on the solution has been going on for more than 2 years. For me, the most important thing as a scientist, as well as a mother, is that I was able to combine science, technology and business. It has been possible to create something that is a combination of these three fields and will bring real help to patients. It is a roalso a device extremely useful to doctors, whoorym there is still a lack of specialized equipment in this field – emphasized in an interview with PAP, Dr. Honorata Hafke-Dys of the Institute of Acoustics at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan.

According to tworcoIn StethoMe, the device is more effective than a live doctor. And this is all thanks to the aforementioned algorithms and electronics, ktora makes it more sensitive in porown to soundow, whichore the doctor hears, using a traditional stethoscope. According to a study conducted a few years ago in the US, the effectiveness of detecting the characteristic sounds of pneumoniaoin is only 25 percent.

– We do not make a diagnosis. We give you a device thatoIt is designed to alert the parent that something is wrong, and is permanently attached to the deviceoThen pass this information to the doctor – pointed out in an interview with RMF FM one of the co-authorsoltworcoin StethoMe Wojciech Radomski.

– First of all, this is a great revolution when it comes to measuring the lungs of children with asthma, because there is no device on the market thatore allows monitoring the condition of the lungs just like StethoMe – indicated Hafke-Dys. The device can be roAlso helpful with patientsoIn those suffering from chronic illnesses and in individualsob elderly whoore because of the swoj age can’t get to the clinic quickly.

The device is currently at the stage of a production-ready prototype; soon it could already be on the market. Additional pilot studies at medical centers and certification processes are also still underway. Further algorithms are also being developed, whichore will more accurately interpret the results of the tests also heart.