ITS Chancellor Prof. Dr. Ir Mochamad Ashari MEng (left) accompanied by ITS leaders listening to an explanation of the tool working system by Dr. Dhany Arifianto ST MEng (right)

ITS Campus, ITS News – Carrying out early detection of patients infected with Covid-19 will break the chain of virus spread quickly. Aware of this, the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh November (ITS) team innovated the elBicare Cough Analyzer health diagnosis tool that can map the Covid-19 infectious disease through coughing based on lung sounds.

The team, led by Dr. Dhany Arifianto ST MEng, succeeded in designing a medical device that could detect Covid-19 sufferers without having to make direct contact. According to him, the elBicare Cough Analyzer implemented in hospitals can provide initial protection for health workers who are vulnerable to contracting Covid-19 from patients. “This innovation is not only developed to deal with the current pandemic, but is also intended for other infectious respiratory diseases,” said the ITS Physics Engineering Department lecturer.

The hole with the microphone mark as audio input to the sensor

Dhany explained that the elBicare Cough Analyzer is equipped with a thin and small sensor microphone that captures sounds around the device. The incoming sound will then be analyzed, whether it includes a coughing sound or not, by an algorithm on the device processor that the research team has assembled. “The range of sound capture by this tool reaches 10 meters,” added the Head of the ITS Research Center for Internet of Things and Defense Technology.

Furthermore, Dhanny said that coughing sounds would be classified into two categories: coughs that indicated Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 indications. Coughs categorized as non-Covid-19 coughs will also be detected again, for example, normal coughs with symptoms of tuberculosis (TB), bronchitis, and other symptoms. “This grouping is based on the adjustment of the frequency, amplitude, and harmonic components of the lung sounds,” said the man who continued his master’s and doctoral studies at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan.

elBicare Cough Analyzer when recording audio input hasil

The results of the elBicare Cough Analyzer’s analysis of the causes of coughing will be stored and integrated automatically, which is then distributed to user devices with the help of Bluetooth. Dhany and eight other team members also ensure that the team will develop data distribution using wi-fi assistance in the future. “The elBicare Cough Analyzer can last for 20 hours of continuous use,” said the man who was born in Pangkalan Brandan, North Sumatra.

elBicare Cough Analyzer on the right which consists of 4 USB Ports and 1 LAN Port

The non-Covid-19 cough grouping data was obtained through the team’s independent research. Team members consist of three ITS undergraduate (S-1) students, two ITS masters (S-2) students, and three doctors (one of which is a lung specialist) from Universitas Airlangga (Unair).

Meanwhile, research data for coughing symptoms of Covid-19 was obtained through research in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, England. “This research tool took almost two years, the testing was carried out at the Airlangga University Hospital (RSUA),” explained this 1992 ITS alumnus.

elBicare Cough Analyzer user database, team design from ITS

Even in this study, Dhany and his team had to go through several obstacles, one of which was finding students and experts at ITS who were interested in working on hardware tools. Dhany said that the software sector is currently more in demand than the hardware sector. “Another obstacle is that it is difficult to get Covid-19 patients to test the equipment,” said the Head of the Vibration and Acoustic Laboratory, ITS Physics Engineering Department.

Dhany hopes that the presence of the elBicare Cough Analyzer, it can benefit the people of Indonesia and provide proper and accurate health facilities at a more economical price. “We also hope that in the future students can be more actively involved in collaborative research like this,” he concluded. (ITS PR)

Cough sound results recorded on the website are integrated with the elBicare Cough Analyzer

Reporter: Frecia Elrivia Mardianto