Can a smartphone become an at-home heart monitor? This is what health experts want to know as they check built-in smartphone microphones.
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NANTWICH, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 14: (NO UK SALES FOR 28 DAYS) A heart shaped Dorstone cheese is seen after being presented to the Prince of Wales by floristry instructor Sarah Parker on February 14, 2005 in Nantwich, England.
In a new study, medical researchers decided to assess the efficiency of smartphone microphones in recording heart sounds.
King's College London and Maastricht University experts published their new study titled "Smartphone as an electronic stethoscope: factors influencing heart sound quality" in the European Heart Journal.
Smartphone as At-Home Heart Monitor?
According to Medical News Today's latest report, new research revealed that smartphones could also be used as at-home stethoscopes.
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A man uses a smartphone on the first day of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) on February 26, 2018 in Barcelona. - The Mobile World Congress, the world's biggest mobile fair, is held in Barcelona from February 26 to March 1. (Photo by Pau Barrena / AFP)
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"This research proves that mobile technologies are a viable way of recording heart sounds," explained Dr. Pablo Lamata, the study's co-author.
He added that doctors could use heart sound recordings on smartphones in the future.
Dr. Lamata further explained that medical experts could rely on them to check for the existence or progression of heart conditions.
Regarding the actual results, the new study showed that around 80% of participants (1,148 between May 21 and October 4, 2021) were able to record quality heart sound recordings using their smartphones.
On the other hand, 75% of their recordings were good enough to be processed to obtain medically relevant data.
Heart Beat-Collecting App Has Been Developed
Aside from checking smartphones' built-in microphones, involved researchers also created a new application that can effectively collect heart sounds.
Thanks to the efforts made by Cellule Design Studio, British Heart Foundation, and Evelina Children's Heart Organization, the new Echoes app has been developed.
This new medical app works by placing the smartphone on the user's chest. After that, they need to press the "record" button.
Then, the application will filter the heart sound recordings so that any background noise can be removed.
You can click this link to learn more about the new Echoes app.
Previously, a disease-diagnosing AI that can work based on speech was confirmed to be under development.
Meanwhile, mini-brain organoids were created using stem cells.
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Written by Griffin Davis
