Device to alleviate chronic respiratory conditions wins UK James Dyson Award

Pleural is an autonomous mucus management device for the 3.9 million Britons suffering from debilitating airway mucus that can lead to infections and exacerbations that increase the likelihood of hospitalisation.

Pleural uses a silicone cup to apply a calculated force to the chest at particular frequencies to mobilise mucus from the lungs.

The team at Pleural observed that a doctor’s finger-tapping percussion on a patient’s chest during auscultation generates impulse signals, which are interpreted alongside breathing sounds using a stethoscope to analyse the chest.

This takes years of training but advances in machine learning have allowed the team at Pleural to train AI to perform the task. They found they could use the same percussive mechanism to provide the input for AI-powered auscultation and for the percussive chest clearance therapy itself. Users can perform airway clearance therapy at home, with the device providing guidance and progress tracking through the companion app to ensure thorough treatment.

Daniel Hale, engineering lead at Pleural, explained that the device requires calibrating to each user.