Wearable always-on stethoscope to spot early asthma attacks in children
Wearable, Always-on Stethoscope for Early Detection of Asthma Attack
A small wearable stethoscope that listens continuously to children's breathing to catch early signs of an asthma attack.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Southern California NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Los Angeles, UNITED STATES) |
| Project ID | NIH-11181493 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This project is building a small, always-on wearable stethoscope that sits on the chest and continuously records breathing sounds. It uses a bank of resonant microphones tuned for very quiet lung sounds (100–800 Hz) and ultra-low-power signal processing so it can work without a bulky acoustic coupler. The team will test the device in infants, young children, and people who cannot perform standard lung function tests, collecting recordings in clinic and at home. The device aims to alert caregivers and clinicians to worsening breathing so treatment can start sooner.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are infants and young children (roughly 0–11 years) and people with intellectual disabilities who have asthma or recurrent breathing problems and cannot do standard lung-function tests.
Not a fit: Adults with well-controlled asthma who can perform standard lung-function testing and reliably report symptoms may not gain direct benefit from this device.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the device could enable earlier detection of worsening asthma in infants and young children who cannot report symptoms, leading to faster treatment and fewer severe attacks.
How similar studies have performed: Portable digital stethoscopes and wearable respiratory monitors exist, but continuous, coupler-free devices optimized for detecting very quiet lung sounds in infants are largely novel and not yet proven in large clinical trials.
Where this research is happening
Los Angeles, UNITED STATES
- University of Southern California — Los Angeles, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kim, Eun Sok — University of Southern California
- Study coordinator: Kim, Eun Sok
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.