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

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种新的方法，用于早期检测和持续评估慢性呼吸道症状，该方法基于客观和持续的测量，可用于急性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个美国人中就有一个)。哮喘是一种慢性呼吸系统疾病，以可逆性气流阻塞为特征。这种疾病是由持续性炎症引起的，导致各种症状，从间歇性的活动呼吸急促到严重的急性症状，如胸痛或胸闷、咳嗽和喘息。由于症状感知不良或坚持服药不充分而导致哮喘发作的频率和严重程度增加的患者，可能会经历哮喘发作或加重，这可能危及生命。随着时间的推移，无论是在国内还是在全球，哮喘的总流行率都在增加。根据最近的流行病学研究，哮喘的患病率估计分别占美国和全球人口的8.4%和4.3%。家庭监测可以为支气管痉挛的发展提供早期预警，在哮喘恶化之前可以迅速治疗，从而减少急诊室就诊。这一i-Corps项目基于开发一种无线、灵活、柔软的可穿戴听诊器，具有黄金标准的信号分辨率，用于在急性心肺疾病后护理中增加患者的舒适性和机动性。与目前需要就诊和训练有素的临床医生才能操作的硬质听诊器相比，这些特点将使肺科医生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衬底组件，以最大限度地提高舒适性，同时促进对四种不同的肺部异常声音的诊断：爆裂声、Rhonchi、Stridor和喘息。学术价值来自两个关键创新：(1)新颖的电子封装方法，允许皮肤和传感组件之间的亲密和共形接触，以及(2)系统设计的传感器布局，以最大限度地提高临床医生远程诊断急性肺护理后患者的诊断辅助能力。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.