Zargis Medical signs exclusive license agreement with Boston-based Stethographics

Jun 11 2010

Zargis Medical Corp., a majority-owned subsidiary of Speedus Corp. (Nasdaq: SPDE), today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Boston-based Stethographics, Inc. providing an exclusive license to patented, FDA-cleared Stethographics lung sounds analysis technology that automatically identifies clinically significant respiratory sounds.  Zargis plans to incorporate the technology into its existing telemedicine and computer-aided auscultation platform in order to deliver these new diagnostic support tools to medical professionals.

Stethographics is a leading developer of automated, noninvasive sound analysis products designed to help medical professionals identify and interpret clinically significant lung sounds. The company was founded in 1998 by Dr. Raymond Murphy, a Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine who also spent 25 years as an assistant professor at the Harvard School of Public Health.

The licensed technology allows lung sounds to be visually displayed in the form of traces, similar to the manner in which the Zargis Cardioscan heart murmur detection software displays stethoscope-captured heart sounds. The system also provides objective findings regarding clinically significant respiratory sounds such as wheezes, crackles and rhonchi. "We are excited to have partnered with Zargis Medical. Their award-winning platform has set a new standard for computer-aided sound analysis and tele-auscultation, and the inclusion of our technology in their systems should greatly aid healthcare professionals in the assessment of patients' lungs," stated Dr. Murphy.

Although certain respiratory sounds are often associated with a variety of illnesses and injuries, such as asthma, pneumonia, COPD, interstitial pulmonary fibrosis, bronchitis and pneumothorax, the task of identifying, differentiating and recalling such sounds can be challenging for medical professionals. The early and correct recognition of important lung sounds can have a significant impact on health outcomes and improve patient management.  

“Numerous investigations have been published which support the role of computer-aided lung sounds analysis,” stated Zargis CEO John Kallassy. “With our existing heart sounds analysis device, cleared for sale in 37 countries, Zargis is already the world’s leading provider of computer-aided auscultation tools. The integration of lung sounds analysis tools into our award-winning software and telemedicine system is a natural progression in our development.”  

Zargis has not yet announced a date for the launch of the lung sounds analysis tools.