Sparrow BioAcoustics announced it has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market its software that allows smartphones to be used as medical stethoscopes.
The downloadable Stethophone application uses advanced acoustic processing to provide smartphones with highly sensitive cardiac and pulmonary listening capability. Stethophone is unique in that there is nothing new to plug in, charge, or connect. Heart and lung sounds are captured by simply holding a smartphone to a patient’s chest without the need to attach any additional devices.
“Our goal is to enable large-scale, rapid detection of cardiac and pulmonary symptoms, wherever they occur,” said Mark Attila Opauszky, CEO of Sparrow BioAcoustics. “There is a world of diagnostic information contained in chest sounds, and the healthcare system needs a practical way to capture this data and put it to work for the benefit of patients. Stethophone eliminates the main obstacles to doing that.”
In trials conducted at Eastern Health Medical Centre of Newfoundland, 70 percent of medical professionals rated Stethophone superior in diagnostic sound performance over other leading devices. Stethophone also performed significantly higher in overall correct heart pathology diagnosis and correct normal heart diagnosis.
“Stethophone captures gallops, murmurs and arrythmias indicative of numerous progressive cardiac diseases.” said Yaroslav Shpak, M.D., co-founder of Sparrow BioAcoustics. “Heart and lung sounds provide fast and exceptionally rich diagnostic information enabling early detection and quicker treatment”
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death globally, representing 32 percent of all global deaths. The number of people at risk of CVD is on the rise. The American heart association reports that nearly half of all U.S. adults have some type of cardiovascular disease.
