PST Inc. (Headquarters: Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture; CEO: Hiroshi Otsuka) is pleased to announce that the results of its joint research with Associate Professor Kozo Okada from the Cardiovascular Center of Yokohama City University Medical Center have been published in the English-language journal “Circulation Reports” by the Japanese Circulation Society. This research demonstrates new possibilities for managing heart failure using voice biomarker technology.

Research Highlights
– Innovative Approach: A novel attempt to analyze the voices of heart failure patients to explore correlations with their condition.
– High-Precision Predictions: By incorporating acoustic features highly correlated with traditional indicators into a machine learning model, the accuracy of the predictive model was significantly enhanced.
– Non-Invasive Monitoring: The potential for a new heart failure management method that reduces the burden on patients.

Summary of Research Results
In this study, 839 voice samples were collected from 59 acute heart failure patients and compared with traditional heart failure indicators (such as the NYHA functional classification, chest X-ray findings, and blood BNP levels). The analysis revealed that certain acoustic features correlated with the state of heart failure.

Notably, the BNP values predicted by the machine learning model, which incorporated these specific acoustic features, showed a significant correlation with the actual measured values (r=0.49, P<0.001). Furthermore, this model successfully predicted other heart failure test results with high accuracy (up to 80.4%).

Future Prospects
These research results suggest that voice biomarker technology could revolutionize heart failure management. With further research, continuous and non-invasive monitoring of heart failure in patients’ daily lives is expected to become a reality.

PST Inc. will continue its research and development efforts with Associate Professor Kozo Okada from Yokohama City University Medical Center to bring this groundbreaking technology into practical use. By applying voice biomarker technology, we aim to improve the quality of life for heart failure patients and reduce the burden on healthcare systems and society.

Paper URL:
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/circrep/advpub/0/advpub_CR-24-0064/_article/-char/en