Augmented Reality Guided Digital Lung Auscultation Assessment System [LAAS] wins Rep. Lucy McBath’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Georgia’s Seventh District

When asked what inspired the creation of Augmented Reality Guided Digital Lung Auscultation Assessment System [LAAS], the students said, “Currently, more than 545 million individuals around the world are living with lung diseases, necessitating regular monitoring to safeguard their health. However, people with pre-existing lung conditions face challenges in accessing clinics or hospitals for various reasons. This makes it crucial to provide a means for individuals to track the progression of their lung conditions in a timely manner, facilitating effective treatment.

In response to this critical issue, we are actively working to develop a comprehensive system designed to address three pivotal challenges. Firstly, we aim to empower individuals without medical expertise to collect respiratory sounds from the most optimal auscultation sites. Second, our goal is to provide users with an easy means to record breath sounds, which can subsequently be stored, played back, or transmitted to remote medical professionals for accurate diagnosis. Finally, our system harnesses the power of a fully-trained machine learning model, meticulously crafted using a professionally acquired dataset, to swiftly identify whether a patient requires immediate medical intervention.

Our innovative approach involves the creation of an affordable device, comprising a chestpiece and microphone, ensuring accessibility to the general public. Augmented Reality (AR) technology is at the heart of our solution, offering users step-by-step guidance on precisely where to position their auscultation sites for lung monitoring. The breath sound acquisition system further enhances user convenience, enabling recording, storage, playback, and easy sharing of breath sound data, facilitating telemedicine consultations or analysis through our Machine Learning classification system.

The promising results from our research affirm the feasibility of the Augmented Reality Superimposed Guiding system for monitoring and detecting lung diseases. This system promises to revolutionize the way individuals manage their lung conditions, offering a versatile, accessible, and real-time solution to monitor and track lung health, regardless of their location or time zone. As we continue to refine and expand this technology, our vision is to provide a lifeline for millions of individuals, ensuring their lung health is never compromised due to logistical constraints.”