Respira Labs, a leading respiratory healthcare tech company, has recently announced its latest device. It's called Sylvee, and the company plans to launch it in the near future pending FDA clearance. Once live, it's expected that it will be able to monitor general lung functions and respiratory issues.

Read on to find out what we know so far, including how Sylvee works and what it means for related health challenges.

The Unique Lung-Monitoring Wearable, Sylvee

Medical technology company Respira Labs has introduced its unique chest-wearable technology. It aims at continuously monitoring and assessing patients’ lung functions non-invasively.

Sylvee was initially built to monitor specific respiratory illnesses like COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and COVID-19, but has now expanded its functions to also address general lung challenges. To ensure up to 90% accuracy of the product when curating patients’ health data, labs conducted clinical trials on up to 500 patients within and outside the US. Currently, Sylvee is in prototype, and FDA clearance should follow within the next 18 months.

Sylvee was named after Dr. Maria Artunduaga’s (Respira Labs' founder and CEO) grandmother, Sylvia, who suffered from COPD and died due to sudden complications from the disease. The goal of this product is the timely detection of abnormalities in the lungs. This will help patients get faster treatment at home, giving them the ability to take charge of and manage their respiratory health.

How Sylvee Works

Sylvee functions through the most advanced respiratory tech. It takes the concept of ultrasound a step further, monitoring lung health through sound and not images. It monitors respiratory health through pulmonary volumes, trapped air, respiratory and heart rates, breathing sounds, and body temperature.

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More simply, it works by using its embedded microphones and speakers to measure acoustic resonance. The device generates some noise through its speakers and uses the microphone to measure these sounds.

The idea is that the quality of sound changes if there are air cavities in the lungs. Research has shown that there is a clear difference between the sound coming from the acoustic resonance of COPD patients and healthy ones.

This chest wearable uses the data it gathers from the speakers to measure lung volume and capacity, the rate of flow, and trapped air. Sylvee is a chest wearable, but it’s not worn directly across the chest. Instead, patients place it on the lower part of the rib cage and it monitors the lungs continuously all day.

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It can function around the clock for two weeks, monitoring daily respiratory health and providing you with actionable insights. The device's readings can show you how to make the most of your day.

How Does the Wearable Lungs Monitor Make an Impact?

Respira Sylvee App
Image Credit: Respira Labs

According to the WHO, more than 100 million Americans have been affected by COPD, COVID-19, or asthma. Since the coronavirus pandemic began, respiratory challenges have become a more common cause of death. There are predictions that 10% of the world’s population could be affected by chronic respiratory diseases by 2030.

Respira Labs believes that biased questionnaires and inaccurate pulse oximeters do not detect up to 50% of respiratory exacerbations. So with a wearable like Sylvee, COPD, COVID-19, and asthma patients can remotely and actively monitor their respiratory health at home. Sylvee detects early symptoms of exacerbation like air trappings, which can be lifesaving for people dealing with such conditions.

The device will accurately monitor respiratory health and flag worsening conditions or abnormalities early enough to allow intervention, thus averting endangering consequences.

Take Charge of Your Health

One of the best ways to ensure you stay on top of health conditions is to constantly keep an eye on yourself, looking out for abnormalities and sudden changes. This is one of the benefits Sylvee is offering.

With devices like Sylvee, the challenge of keeping track of health challenges stemming from COPD, COVID-19, and asthma will become easier to manage. This reduces negative results like burnout, physical deterioration, and even death.