Pulmonary Fibrosis Lung Sounds Study (Version 2)

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Pulmonary Fibrosis Lung Sounds Study: Feasibility study for gathering lung sound recordings from pulmonary fibrosis patients and healthy controls and classifying disease status using a combination of cost-effective digital sound device (‘stemoscope’) and machine learning

• IRAS ID

  326224

• Contact name

  Michael Gibbons

• Contact email

  michael.gibbons2@nhs.net

• Sponsor organisation

  Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

• Duration of Study in the UK

  0 years, 8 months, 25 days

• Research summary

  This is a study about using technology to help diagnose and monitor a deadly lung disease called pulmonary fibrosis, which makes it more and more difficult to breathe. Normally, very experienced doctors listen to a patient's chest with a stethoscope to get information about their health. However, there are not enough experienced doctors and expensive follow up equipment available, so diagnosis and treatment can take a long time. This is a big problem for patients suffering from this disease since they only have a few years left to live and without a diagnosis they are unable to receive the treatment and support that they need.
  In this study, we want to use a low cost device (called a "stemoscope") that can record sounds from the chest, combined with computer software to analyse the sounds. We are testing this method just once on 50 patients and 50 healthy controls to see if it can accurately detect the disease. The testing takes about 10-15 minutes and involves recording sounds from different parts of the chest while the study participant breathes normally. The recordings will be saved and analyzed, but won't affect the standard of care. The study takes place within the Royal Devon University Hospital NHS Trust hospital in Exeter, while people are there for appointments, and involves volunteers who are pulmonary fibrosis patients or healthy controls over the age of 60. The study has been reviewed and supported by a group of patients and doctors, and the goal is to make diagnosing and monitoring the disease easier and faster in the future.

• REC name

  London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  23/LO/0288

• Date of REC Opinion

  15 May 2023

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion