As part of its commitment to fostering innovation in healthcare, Qatar University (QU) has developed AI technologies aimed at enhancing healthcare outcomes.
In an official statement, QU revealed that a team of students from the Department of Electrical Engineering at the College of Engineering, including Hamad al-Yafei, Mohammed Nour, and Abdulla al-Obaidan, worked under the guidance of Dr. Muhammad Salman Khan, Associate Professor at QU, to design and develop advanced AI models for classifying abnormal lung sounds, aiding in more accurate diagnosis of respiratory diseases.
Lung sounds, also referred to as respiratory or breath sounds, are fundamental indicators for diagnosing respiratory diseases. Traditional auscultation using a stethoscope requires significant skill and experience to accurately identify abnormalities. However, human errors or time constraints may lead to delayed or inaccurate diagnoses. This is where AI plays a transformative role, enabling the analysis of lung sounds through machine learning and deep learning algorithms to provide rapid and precise diagnoses of abnormalities.
The project began with a comprehensive review of scientific literature to identify key challenges and solutions in the field. The students utilized an internationally recognized dataset, widely recognized by the research community, which contained both normal and abnormal lung sounds. They processed and analyzed this dataset using advanced signal processing and acoustic feature extraction techniques. The outcome was AI models trained to classify lung sounds with high accuracy, paving the way for wide applications in healthcare systems.
The project involved a unique collaboration between the College of Engineering and the College of Medicine, with co-mentorship from Dr. Maha Desouki, Section Head of Pre-Clinical Education.
As part of the initiative, engineering students visited the College of Medicine's clinical skills lab, where they trained on medical manikins to record and analyze both normal and abnormal lung sounds. This effort aligns with QU's vision to contribute to the nation's knowledge-based economy and enhance its research capabilities in critical fields.
“This collaboration between students and researchers represents a significant step toward enhancing healthcare outcomes and advancing medical technologies. The project reflects QU's commitment to excellence in research and innovation and its role in fostering cross-sector collaboration to achieve tangible outcomes that improve the lives of individuals and communities”, the statement said.
