LungPass, an AI-powered Bluetooth Smart Stethoscope has been developed by Healthy Networks, a company based in Talinn, Estonia. The device can analyze sounds from the lungs and help to diagnose or monitor a variety of respiratory conditions, with an initial focus on pneumonia and COPD.
The aim was to create a low-cost (the device costs as little as €89 ($105)) technology that people could keep at home and use if they suspect to be were a respiratory illness or to monitor a pre-existing condition. With many respiratory illnesses, such as pneumonia, timely diagnosis and intervention are critical to avoid serious illness or death.
Having a system that allows patients to assess their own condition could be hugely valuable in this field. However, the stethoscope could also assist clinicians in identifying respiratory illnesses, as detecting and correctly spotting the subtle sounds of respiratory disease can be tricky when using a regular Smart Stethoscope. Medgadget had the opportunity to speak with Helena Binetskaya, CEO and co-founder of Healthy Networks, about the technology.
Helena Binetskaya, Healthy Networks: Healthy Networks originated from a personal story. Four years ago, my young daughter, Yaroslava, had a severe cough for weeks. Of course, we were worried about the cause and that it might be dangerous. Every week, we would take her to a doctor, who would ask about her symptoms and listen to her lungs. Yet he repeatedly assured us that her lungs were clear and that there was no cause for worry. I scolded myself for unnecessarily exposing a child to a clinical environment, but the fear of missing a dangerous condition like pneumonia was far too great.
Then I thought: can I mimic a chest exam from home? I could get a digital Smart Stethoscope to record her lung sounds and send those over to a physician together with her symptoms, temperature, and other vitals.
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