Can a patch replace the stethoscope?

If you heard a wheeze, could you recognize it? Maybe not. But perhaps you could if you had a stethoscope. 

Identifying the high-pitched whistling sound in a patient’s lungs using a stethoscope is still the top way doctors diagnose lung conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). But should it be?

Trying something different: A pilot patient study from Georgia Tech has used a wearable patch powered by deep learning to explore an upgrade to the stethoscope.

Why we need to upgrade the stethoscope: Digital stethoscopes are now the gold standard across healthcare. 

• Digital stethoscopes are an improvement over the traditional version, which dates back to the 1800s. However, this new generation of clinicians’ most recognizable tool still picks up airborne noise, getting in the way of wheeze detection accuracy. 
• They rely on an algorithm cross-referencing recorded lung sound data with a checklist of wheeze characteristics. Albeit more comprehensive than relying on a doctor’s recognition with a traditional stethoscope, these algorithms still miss cases.
• At the same time, asthma and COPD are highly underdiagnosed across the world. Underdiagnosis raises the risk of the kind of uncontrolled disease that sends both children and adults visiting emergency departments and calling out sick over and over.