Sonicating the lungs using resonance acoustic excitation

­The Invention: 

An acoustic wave generator that agitates the lungs when placed on or near the patient.  The frequency of the sound waves is determined from the Fourier Transform of the cough spectrum recorded from the patient. By absorbing resonant frequencies of the patient's chest cavity, the lungs can be "sonicated" in an efficient manner to dislodge and ultimately remove phlegm, detritus, and fluid from inside the lungs.  This could aid COVID or pneumonia patients who have difficulty coughing (e.g no energy) to remove this unwanted material and have low oxygenation values as a result.

Benefits:

• Individually ascertaining the best, most effective frequencies to sonicate the lungs of a patient by recording their cough and calculating the Fourier Transform spectrum of this cough.  
• There are devices available that have fixed frequencies (e.g. Vibralung) but we want to vary the frequencies for each patient to rapidly determine (via the Fourier Transform) the best frequencies to sonicate their lungs (i.e. frequencies that best absorb energy).

Market Opportunity: 

Several markets can be positively impacted by this technology. For example, the cold and cough remedies market with a revenue of $11.11B in 2024 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.5% until 2028. Furthermore, according to Global Market Insights,  the cough assist devices market is expected to be over $205.1M in 2022 and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 7.2% between 2023 and 2032.

Intellectual property

Early Stage