New electronic stethoscope and computer program diagnose lung conditions

New electronic stethoscope and computer program diagnose lung conditions
Credit: Hiroshima University.

The classic stethoscope has entered the digital age. Medical researchers have created a computer program that connects to an electronic stethoscope to classify lung sounds into five common diagnostic categories.

The Respiratory Sounds Visualizer and the new electronic stethoscope with a high sensitivity for lung sounds were developed by a team of three physician researchers at Hiroshima University and Fukushima Medical University, in collaboration with the industrial company Pioneer Corporation.

Recorded lung sounds of 878 patients were classified by respiratory specialist doctors. The researchers then turned these diagnoses into templates to create a mathematical formula that evaluates the length, frequency, and intensity of lung sounds. The computer program can recognize the sound patterns consistent with different respiratory diagnoses.

The program analyzes the lung sounds and maps them on a five-sided chart. Each of the five axes represents one of the five types of lung sounds. Doctors and patients can quickly look at the chart and see that when more of the length of the axis is covered in red, that diagnosis is more likely.

Medical professionals listening to heart and lung sounds on a stethoscope need to overcome any background noise and recognize if a patient has one or multiple irregularities.

Any doctor working in less-than-ideal circumstances, from a busy emergency room to a field hospital, could rely on the computer program to "hear" what they might otherwise miss. The computer program's ability to recognize when a patient has multiple lung problems at the same time will benefit student doctors as they develop their own expertise.

The results from the computer program are simple to interpret and can be saved and shared electronically. In the future, this convenience may allow patients to track and record their own during chronic conditions, like chronic (COPD) or cystic fibrosis.

The Respiratory Sounds Visualizer will soon be publically accessible. Dr. Shinichiro Ohshimo, MD, PhD, is one of the researchers involved in developing the technology and works with patients in the Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine at Hiroshima University Hospital.

"We plan to use the and Respiratory Sounds Visualizer with our own patients after further improving [the mathematical calculations]. We will also release the computer program as a downloadable application to the public in the near future," said Dr. Ohshimo.

More information: Shinichiro Ohshimo et al. Innovation in Analysis of Respiratory Sounds, Annals of Internal Medicine (2016). DOI: 10.7326/L15-0350

Journal information: Annals of Internal Medicine
Citation: New electronic stethoscope and computer program diagnose lung conditions (2016, February 23) retrieved 29 March 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-02-electronic-stethoscope-lung-conditions.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

Computer-assisted stethoscope can ID respiratory sounds

7 shares

Feedback to editors