I-Corps: Disposable, Continuous, Soft, Wearable Stethoscope for Monitoring Post-Acute Pulmonary Patients

I-Corps：用于监测急性肺病患者的一次性、连续、柔软、可穿戴听诊器

• 批准号: 2234161
• 负责人: Woon-Hong Yeo
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: Georgia Tech Research Corporation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-08-15 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2234161&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Corps; Disposable; Continuous; Soft; Wearable

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a novel method for early detection and ongoing assessment of chronic respiratory symptoms that are based on objective and continuous measurements that can be used in both home and clinical settings for post-acute patients. Approximately 25 million Americans have asthma (1 in 13 Americans). Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition marked by reversible airflow obstruction. The disease is caused by persistent inflammation and results in a variety of symptoms ranging from intermittent shortness of breath with activity, to severe, acute symptoms such as chest pain or tightness, coughing, and wheezing. Patients who experience an increase in the frequency and severity of asthma flare-ups owing to poor symptom perception or inadequate adherence to medication may experience asthma attacks or exacerbations, which can be life-threatening. The overall prevalence of asthma has been increasing over time both domestically and globally. According to recent epidemiologic studies, the estimated prevalence of asthma is 8.4 percent and 4.3 percent of the US and global populations, respectively. Monitoring at home can provide an early warning for the development of bronchospasm that can be promptly treated before it progresses to an asthma exacerbation, thereby reducing emergency room visits.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a wireless, flexible, soft wearable stethoscope with gold-standard signal resolution for increasing patient comfort and mobility in post-acute telepulmonary care. In comparison to current rigid stethoscopes which require visits and well-trained clinicians to operate, these characteristics will make it easier for both pulmonologists and patients to continuously monitor the development of pulmonary diseases. The technology is a gentle, wireless auscultation patch with highly conformal sensing and substrate components to maximize comfort while facilitating diagnoses of four different pulmonary abnormal sounds: crackle, rhonchi, stridor, and wheeze. The intellectual merit stems from two key innovations: (1) a novel electronics encapsulation method that permits intimate and conformal contact between the skin and sensing components, and (2) a systematically designed sensor layout to maximize diagnostic-aiding capabilities for clinicians to remotely diagnose post-acute pulmonary care patients.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种基于客观和连续测量的慢性呼吸道症状早期检测和持续评估的新方法，可用于急性期后患者的家庭和临床环境。大约有2500万美国人患有哮喘（每13个美国人中就有1个）。哮喘是一种慢性呼吸系统疾病，其特征是可逆的气流阻塞。 这种疾病是由持续性炎症引起的，并导致各种症状，从活动时的间歇性呼吸短促到严重的急性症状，如胸痛或胸闷、咳嗽和喘息。由于症状感知差或药物依从性不足而导致哮喘发作频率和严重程度增加的患者可能会发生哮喘发作或加重，这可能危及生命。随着时间的推移，哮喘的总体患病率在国内和全球都在增加。根据最近的流行病学研究，哮喘的估计患病率分别为美国和全球人口的8.4%和4.3%。在家监测可以为支气管痉挛的发展提供早期预警，在其发展为哮喘急性发作之前可以及时治疗，从而减少急诊室就诊。I-Corps项目基于开发一种无线、灵活、柔软的可穿戴听诊器，具有金标准信号分辨率，可提高急性期后远程肺护理中患者的舒适度和移动性。与目前需要访问和训练有素的临床医生操作的刚性听诊器相比，这些特性将使肺病学家和患者更容易持续监测肺部疾病的发展。该技术是一种温和的无线听诊贴片，具有高度适形的传感和基板组件，可最大限度地提高舒适度，同时有助于诊断四种不同的肺部异常声音：爆裂音、干啰音、喘鸣和喘息。其智力价值源于两项关键创新：（1）一种新的电子封装方法，其允许皮肤和感测部件之间的紧密和共形接触，以及（2）系统设计的传感器布局，以最大化临床医生的诊断辅助能力，从而远程诊断术后并发症。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识产权进行评估，被认为值得支持。优点和更广泛的影响审查标准。