Zargis Medical, a majority-owned subsidiary of Speedus Corporation, has received a contract from the US Army to develop an investigational device based on the success of the Signal-X6 telemedicine systems recently deployed to the Army under a separate contract.
Under the terms of the new $120,000 contract, which commences on August 1, 2010, Zargis is expected to develop prototype versions of the Signal-X6 system that incorporates automated heart sound detection and murmur classification functionality similar to that offered by the Zargis Cardioscan software.
Zargis said that the new project will allow it to enhance its heart sounds analysis technology by leveraging multi-channel heart sound input instead of relying on input from the single sensor contained in a stethoscope, due to the fact that each Signal-X6 device incorporates six acoustic sensors that simultaneously record sounds from a patient’s torso.
Zargis expects that clinical data obtained regarding the project will culminate in the development of an Army-sponsored research paper.
The development of the investigational device described in the contract is being funded by the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) through the AAMTI program.
The AAMTI program provides funding to AMEDD personnel to demonstrate technology and document the impact on cost, access and quality of care. TATRC is an element of the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC).
John Kallassy, CEO of Zargis, said: “As our Signal-X6 systems continue to be evaluated throughout the Army’s Military Treatment Facilities, we anticipate that the integration of our heart sounds analysis algorithms will lead the Army, and others, to deploy our devices on a wider scale.”