The University of Szeged (SZTE) in Hungary is developing a new, portable respiratory function measuring device for the diagnosis of respiratory diseases, which is also suitable for home use—the public relations department of the institution informed the state news agency MTI.
According to the press release, the Cardiopulmonary Research Group of the University of Szeged’s Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School is pioneering the development of technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory diseases. The ultimate goal of the project, a collaboration between several faculties and academic units at the university, is to create a portable, small, and relatively inexpensive respiratory mechanics measurement device, according to an article by Közbeszéd.hu.
The method itself is nothing new, as it has been around for 50–60 years and researchers at the institute have been working on it for decades in animal and human studies. The real innovation lies in the fact that this technology has been optimized for a small device suitable for home use.
Head of the Institute of Medical Physics and Informatics at SZTE Ferenc Peták recalled that the first phase of the research was completed in 2023, during which the electronic components were miniaturized, with the help of two young colleagues from the SZTE Faculty of Engineering, Péter Sarcevic and Ádám Bálint. In the next phase of development, they will continue to work on perfecting the electronics and eventually produce a working prototype. The next big task will be to design this prototype with the help of the university’s 3D Centre.
Although artificial intelligence is not yet directly part of the project, the long-term goal is to integrate it into the system. Another important direction is to strengthen telemedicine applications. This would allow the device to be used in situations where the patient and the doctor are far apart and cannot meet face-to-face. Home measurements would allow the doctor to monitor the patient’s data continuously, rather than only receiving information collected at three-monthly check-ups, as in the case of a blood pressure or blood glucose diary.
Specialists have also developed a custom-designed airflow metre that reliably records the amount of air exhaled. The development was necessary because the small size of commercially available airflow metres is not accurate enough. The parameters of the instrument developed by the researchers—such as size and resistance—can be customized. This allows the device to be tailored to the individual condition of the respiratory system, resulting in more accurate and reliable measurements.
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