Researchers at Northwestern University in the United States have launched a new type of soft, micro wearable device that far exceeds the intermittent measurement results obtained by doctors during auscultation. These devices gently adhere to the skin and can wirelessly continuously track subtle sounds within the body at multiple locations in any area of the body. This new study was published on the 16th in the journal Nature Medicine. The team tested these devices on 15 premature infants with respiratory and intestinal motility disorders and 55 adults (including 20 with chronic lung disease). Each device is packaged with soft silicone, measuring 40mm in length, 20mm in width, and 8mm in thickness. In such a small volume, it contains flash drives, miniature batteries, electronic components, Bluetooth functionality, and two miniature microphones facing both inside and outside the body. By capturing sound from two directions, the algorithm can separate external (environmental or neighboring organs) sound from internal sound. When developing new devices, researchers considered two vulnerable groups: premature infants in intensive care units and adults after surgery. The new device can continuously non-invasive monitor infants during their waking and sleeping periods without disturbing them. It also provides the opportunity to safely determine the "characteristics" related to air movement (inlet and outlet airways and lungs), heart sounds, and intestinal peristalsis, while paying attention to circadian rhythms. In addition, for children and infants, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal problems are the main causes of death in the first five years of life. Gastrointestinal problems accompanied by bowel sounds are early warning signals for a large number of diseases. This device can monitor these sounds and, in addition to providing continuous monitoring, can also free critically ill infants from the constraints of various sensors, wires, and cables connected to bedside monitors. The team also conducted tests on adult patients, and in all subjects, the device simultaneously captured the distribution of lung sounds and body movements at different positions, allowing researchers to analyze single breaths in a series of areas throughout the lungs. Researchers say that by continuously monitoring these sounds in real-time, they can determine whether lung health is improving or deteriorating, evaluate patients' reactions to specific drugs or treatments, and then provide personalized treatment for individual patients. The main advantage of the "sound recognition and disease identification" device is that it can simultaneously obtain and compare sounds from different regions of the organ. For example, this is like a dozen well-trained doctors using stethoscopes to simultaneously listen to the sounds of different areas of the lungs, thereby continuously and dynamically evaluating the health status of the lungs. At the same time, it not only has clinical level accuracy, but also provides new features for clinical care, forming a comprehensive, non-invasive sensing network by gently adhering to the skin, capturing sounds and associating them with the body. Zhang Mengran (New News Agency)