Mobile app feature scores nasal congestion with voice recording

A new feature within the SONU app called SONUCheck allows individuals to check the openness of their nasal passages/congestion in real-time with a voice recording, according to a press release from SoundHealth Inc.

“Because recording a few seconds of one’s voice is a simple, repeatable test, SONUCheck can offer clinicians a longitudinal and objective measure of their patients’ nasal airway health by using their voice as a biomarker,” Peter Hwang, MD, co-founder and head of research at SoundHealth, as well as head of the Stanford Sinus Center, told Healio.

“SONUCheck can help health providers who deal with airway issues diagnose nasal congestion without invasive endoscopy or radiologic imaging studies,” Hwang added.

As Healio previously reported, SoundHealth Inc. launched the SONU Band, the world’s first FDA-authorized, AI-enabled, over-the-counter, wearable medical device for the treatment of moderate to severe nasal congestion, in July.

Similar to the SONU Band, SONUCheck involves AI. In combination with machine learning, these technologies present a nasal breathing score to individuals after processing data from the voice recording, according to the release.

“The nasal breathing score was developed based on nasalance, a well-established objective measure of vocal resonance reflecting the nasality of one’s voice,” Hwang told Healio. “Using AI and machine learning algorithms, we have adapted the nasalance measurement to assess nasal congestion using recordings of a SONU user’s voice through microphones embedded in the device.”

When asked if there is a certain score threshold that signals when individuals should seek out medical advice, Hwang said data are still being accumulated to figure this out, but in the meantime, observed score changes may be valuable.

“Changes in an individual’s breathing score over time can provide an objective starting point for patients to discuss their airway health with their physicians,” Hwang told Healio.