FEATURED NEWS

Date of Issue: January 19, 2017

 

Dr. Chiu Chuang-Chien, FCU’s vice-president and distinguished professor from the Department of Automatic Control Engineering, has dedicated much of his academic life to the research of speech recognition technology, image processing, and bio-signal processing. In recent years, he has focused his attention on computer-aided diagnostic tools, such as his sound-analyzing diagnostic device for traditional Chinese medicine. The device uses a computerized sound analysis system to develop an “auscultation apparatus,” which listens to sounds from the heart, lungs, or other organs as part of a medical diagnosis.

 

The computerized sound analysis consists of quick bursts of sound that perform sound parameter quantization and analysis. The results provided are sufficient to identify the medical characteristics of a patient. In addition, according to Dr. Chiu, the data collected by his apparatus is “objective,” and thus offers an ideal tool for diagnosing patient ailments.

 

Motivated by the lack of scientific instruments in Chinese medicine, Dr. Chiu set out to create an intelligent diagnostic device specifically for the field of Chinese medicine. Two medical technology companies, SLS Medical Technology and Node.health Technology, have expressed an interest in taking the device to market. In addition, Dr. Chiu has already reached an agreement with the China Medical University Hospital and Changhua Christian Hospital to test the device. He also has plans to integrate the device with Cloud technology so that it will one day become a universal health management application.