HD FonoDoc digital handheld device for effective diagnosis of the heart

The Idea

In a startling statistics revealed - in 2010, nearly 3.75 million people in India died of cardiovascular diseases, of which a substantial percentage belonged to rural India. The primary reasons cited were lack of awareness, lifestyle and cost factor. Among these the third reason is the one that is severely affecting our rural populace, as in rural areas there are almost no cost-effective ways to diagnose early symptoms of heart diseases. So in a righteous bid to counter that grievous problem, FonoDoc - a digital, cost-effective handheld device for early diagnosis of heart and lung related problems, has been introduced. Touted as the world's first Visual Auscultation device with an integrated Murmur indicator, it is much more advanced than a traditional Stethoscope, in its ability to apprehend and read - heart, lung, bowel, Korotkoff and other sounds.

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Brainchild

FonDoc is the conception and design of Arvind Thiagarajan, chairman and chief inventor of HD Medical Services India in the Chennai sector.

Cost Involved :

It is available in India for Rs 40,000 along with its fully integrated HD printer.

hd fonodoc

Features

According to HD Medical Group -

The Patented signal processing technology is said to be the “best-in-class” stethoscope functionality - ensuring you can hear all that you need to.

Digitized sound, not limited by your hearing - intrinsic ability to amplify, so that one could hear well.

Integrated display of the Phonocardiogram (PCG)- visual and hearing features combined, so you can see what you hear.

World’s first Murmur-Signal Wave display (MUR) - helps you screen for murmurs better.

World first HD MurmurDocTM integrated heart anomaly indicator - to aid in detecting heart abnormalities with high sensitivity & specificity (optional on HD fono).

Storage up to four (PCG) screen snap-shots-for documentation purpose.

Interface to PC through the HD fono Software - to help you document, archive and capture patient episodes. Enables further study into auscultation and to do research.

HD fono Tutorial tool to educate you on auscultation and interpreting PCG display.

The HD fonoDoc is a special HD fono designed to support an external thermal printer - for documentation on-site of waveforms and HD MurmurDoc analysis.

What's Refreshing?

Uniquely and quite conveniently this device has been designed as a replace­ment to the common stethoscopes used by doctors world wide. The advantage of the portability factor also comes into play, along with its power back up - which is a rechargeable lithium ion battery. This small battery can pack a power for up to 8 hours, allowing FonoDoc to perform 200 to 250 examination in this time period.

Application

FonoDoc is mainly designed to capture heart murmurs, so one can detect early symptoms of cardiovascular disease. But it can also apprehend and read - lung, bowel, Korotkoff and other sounds.

Hd Guru Doc is a special version of the HD fono device, but designed to enhance and help in the training and education of Auscultation Skills.

Murmur Doc is a software application that is embedded inside the HD fonoDoc device. Validated against echocardiography, this advanced system has very high Specificity and Sensitivity for detection of heart murmurs.

Quotes

Some quotes from Arvind Thiagarajan, the inventor himself :

Unlike electrocardiogra­phy (ECG), which records the electri­cal activity of heart to detect coronary blocks, FonoDoc is a phonocardiograph that records the sounds and murmurs of heart that are not detectable by ECG

We used the device at a government health care camp in Thanjavur where there was no cardi­ologist available. We tested 300 people with FonoDoc of whom 60 people had cardiac complaints and 10 people were detected with a murmur sound in heart. All 10, who were recommended to con­sult a city cardiologist for ultrasound echocardiography confirmation under­went valve surgeries in a month’s time

I patented the technology in 2001 on Dr. Kalam’s advice. Now I am working on his suggestion to integrate the FonoDoc with ECG so that one device can give both electrical and mechanical results at the same time and at low cost.

Sources : TechnologyReview/Indiamart