The Bosch SoundSee audio AI technology currently used onboard International Space Station to assess system operations
Microphones collect audio data of breathing patterns that are analyzed using artificial intelligence
Study with pediatric patients in Allegheny Health Network to begin in Q1 2022
As Bosch SoundSee technology marks multiple data collections aboard the International Space Station, technology comes to Earth in healthcare application
PITTSBURGH– Highmark Health and Bosch announced today at the CES® 2022 convention in Las Vegas, NV, a research collaboration that will explore the use of innovative sensor technology to capture audio that is analyzed using artificial intelligence to detect pediatric pulmonary conditions, such as asthma. The Bosch SoundSee technology was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in late 2019 and is currently being used aboard the station to assess system operations.
The new research collaboration builds upon a long-time practice in doctor-patient care. When doctors put a stethoscope on a patient’s chest, they can hear audio patterns that help them detect an abnormality. Highmark Health and Bosch are applying the same principles of the stethoscope by using AI-enabled sensor technology to listen and detect audio cues that could help with patient diagnosis. Such AI capabilities have the potential to improve patient-centric, at-home care where audio AI-based diagnostic results can be reported to a doctor for further analysis and recommended action.
By using high-fidelity microphones coupled with AI and machine learning for sound analysis, the research team will investigate if pediatric pulmonary conditions such as asthma can be detected using the noise emitted through various breathing patterns from patients.
Clinical studies will be conducted through the Pediatric Institute of Allegheny Health Network (AHN) and are scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2022. Joseph Aracri, DO, AHN pediatrician and Chair of its Pediatric Institute will conduct the first feasibility study in a small cohort of pediatric patients. During the patient’s visit to the pediatric clinic, the high-resolution microphone will be used to capture the sounds as the children speak and breathe. The sounds will then be processed and added as a feature into the AI and machine learning techniques along with clinically relevant information and the
child’s diagnosis.
“This unique collaboration between two industry leaders fits squarely with our mission of exploring technological innovations that can improve the health and wellness of our patients and members,” said Kelly J. Shields, PhD, Senior Research Data Scientist, Highmark Health. “Bosch’s global leadership in the development of pioneering industrial and consumer technologies and Highmark Health’s R&D expertise, along with AHN’s leading pediatric expertise is an incredibly promising combination that we believe can help transform the diagnosis and treatment of asthma and other breathing disorders.”
Dr. Aracri has practiced medicine as part of AHN Pediatrics since 1998 and served as its president from 2009 through 2014. Since 2014, Dr. Aracri has also served as the Chair of the Department of Pediatrics for Allegheny Health Network, leading a Department of Pediatrics with more than 120 affiliated physicians, providing a broad range of inpatient and outpatient care, including general pediatrics, asthma, allergy and immunology, and neonatology services. In western Pennsylvania alone, over 60 providers within AHN Pediatrics provide care for over 80,000 pediatric patients at 20 locations. The lifetime asthma rate in Pennsylvania was 12.3% in 2019 among children in the 0–17-year age range.
Audio AI expands from space to earth
Bosch’s SoundSee technology on-board the Space Station connects to NASA’s free-flying Astrobee robot and performs AI-driven analytics on audio data from the station’s systems and equipment to develop fully autonomous sensing capabilities to gauge system performance and predict maintenance needs. The technology captures ambient noise through built-in microphones and then uses artificial intelligence to extract operational characteristics of the machines and components from their emitted audio patterns to spot potential anomalies.
“It has always been the vision of Bosch that the SoundSee technology would have applications beyond space,” said Dr. Samarjit Das, leader of the Intelligent Internet of Things group at Bosch Research in Pittsburgh. “Our new research collaboration with Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network is another important step in demonstrating the potential of this technology – and specifically artificial intelligence –
to provide benefit to humankind.”
Bosch has secured multiple patents in utilizing the SoundSee AI technology towards
various consumer and industrial applications such as environmental audio event
recognition and machine health monitoring.
Sensors help to detect asthma
Already Bosch’s experience and core competencies in sensor and microsystems
technology, miniaturization, algorithm development and smart connectivity have
yielded a product for monitoring asthma. The Vivatmo me enables asthmatics to
monitor their condition at home via a breath-gas analyzer device that allows patients to
accurately determine levels of inflammation and document them in an app that can be
shared with their doctor. Vivatmo me has been available in Germany and Austria since
March 2020 and Bosch plans to obtain approval in other markets, such as the United
States.
Bosch at CES 2022:
• PRESS CONFERENCE: Tuesday, January 4, 2022, from 8:00 to 8:45 a.m. local time
(17:00–17:45 CET) with Dr. Tanja Rückert, Bosch CDO, and Mike Mansuetti, president
of Bosch in North America, in Ballroom H, Mandalay Bay Hotel, Las Vegas South
Convention Center, Level 2, as well as livestreamed on the Bosch Media Service.
• BOOTH: January 5–8, 2022, in the Central Hall, booth #16103
• ELECTRIC BIKE TEST TRACK: January 5–8, 2022, at the eMobility Experience,
LVCC, West Hall, West Plaza
• FOLLOW the Bosch CES 2022 highlights on Twitter: #BoschCES
• PANELS WITH BOSCH EXPERTS:
Friday, January 7, 2022, 10:00 a.m., Venetian Hotel (local time)
Building a Resilient Smart Home session with Dr. Carla Kriwet, CEO at BSH
Hausgeräte GmbH
About Bosch
Having established a regional presence in 1906 in North America, the Bosch Group employs
34,700 associates in more than 100 locations, as of December 31, 2020. In 2020, Bosch generated
consolidated sales of $12.3 billion in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. For more information, visit
www.bosch.us, www.bosch.ca and www.bosch.mx.
The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 395,000
associates worldwide (as of December 31, 2020). The company generated sales of $81.7 billion in 2020.
Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility Solutions, Industrial Technology,
Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. As a leading IoT provider, Bosch offers
innovative solutions for smart homes, Industry 4.0, and connected mobility. Bosch is pursuing a vision of
mobility that is sustainable, safe, and exciting. It uses its expertise in sensor technology, software, and
services, as well as its own IoT cloud, to offer its customers connected, cross-domain solutions from a
single source. The Bosch Group’s strategic objective is to facilitate connected living with products and
solutions that either contain artificial intelligence (AI) or have been developed or manufactured with its
help. Bosch improves quality of life worldwide with products and services that are innovative and spark
enthusiasm. In short, Bosch creates technology that is “Invented for life.” The Bosch Group comprises
Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 440 subsidiary and regional companies in 60 countries. Including
sales and service partners, Bosch’s global manufacturing, engineering, and sales network covers nearly
every country in the world. The basis for the company’s future growth is its innovative strength. At 126
locations across the globe, Bosch employs some 73,000 associates in research and development, as well
as roughly 30,000 software engineers.
Exchange rate: 1 EUR = 1.1422
About Highmark Health
Highmark Health, a Pittsburgh, PA-based enterprise that employs more than 37,000 people who serve
millions of Americans across the country, is the parent company of Highmark Inc., Allegheny Health
Network, and HM Health Solutions. Highmark Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates provide health
insurance to more than 6 million members in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware and New York as
well as dental insurance, and related health products through a national network of diversified
businesses. Allegheny Health Network is an integrated delivery network comprised of 14 hospitals,
more than 2,600 affiliated physicians, ambulatory surgery centers, an employed physician organization,
home and community-based health services, a research institute, a group purchasing organization, and
health and wellness pavilions in western Pennsylvania. HM Health Solutions is focused on meeting the
information technology platform and other business needs of the Highmark Health enterprise as well as
unaffiliated health insurance plans by providing proven business processes, expert knowledge, and
integrated cloud-based platforms. Lumevity, a wholly owned subsidiary of Highmark Health, helps
companies transform in ways that drive direct financial benefits while improving quality and increasing
employee engagement. To learn more, visit www.highmarkhealth.org
