Device for pneumothorax diagnosis using breath sounds

描述(由申请人提供)： 目前应用的主要焦点是开发一种使用呼吸音的计算机化分析来检测PTX的新设备。试验性动物研究表明，这种方法可能具有很高的诊断能力。拟议的人体、动物和机械实验将利用声学测量和分析，旨在测试可行性，优化技术，并研究肺部系统中的音频声波行为。由这项技术产生的设备预计将是准确、易于使用、无辐射、廉价、快速、便携和安全的。 该项目的长期目标是开发使用计算机辅助听诊身体声音来诊断医疗状况的技术。虽然听诊器用于医疗诊断很常见，但这种方法依赖于技能，只能提供定性信息，并且可能受到人类辨别某些声学差异的固有能力的限制。这项工作的创新之处在于结合最先进的数字处理算法，实现了多传感器同时采集体音。从拟议的工作中积累的知识库和经验可能有助于开发广泛的诊断技术，包括心血管、胃肠、肌肉和关节应用。例如，早期的研究表明，小肠梗阻、气腹、血管通路受损、冠状动脉闭塞和骨质疏松症等疾病的诊断具有潜在的实用价值。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The primary focus of the current application is to develop a new device for PTX detection using computerized analysis of breath sounds. Pilot animal studies suggested that this approach may have high diagnostic power. The proposed human, animal, and mechanical experiments will utilize acoustic measurements and analyses that are designed to test feasibility, optimize the technique, and study audible-frequency acoustic wave behavior in the pulmonary system. Devices resulting from this technology are expected to be accurate, easy-to-use, radiation-free, inexpensive, rapid, portable, and safe. The long-term objective of this project is to develop techniques for the diagnosis of medical conditions using computer-assisted auscultation of body sounds. While the use of stethoscopes for medical diagnosis is common, this approach is skill dependent, can only provide qualitative information, and may suffer from inherent limitations of human ability to discern certain acoustic differences. The innovative nature of the proposed work is the implementation of simultaneous multi-sensor acquisition of body sounds combined with state of the art digital processing algorithms. The accumulated knowledge base and experience from the proposed work may be useful in developing a broad range of diagnostic technologies including cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, muscle, and joint applications. For example, earlier studies have suggested potential utility for diagnosis of such conditions as small bowel obstruction, pneumoperitoneum, vascular access compromise, coronary occlusions, and osteoporosis.