Saving Lives by Listening to The Heart

Marie Johnson had her world fall apart a few years ago. Her husband died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 41. She had predicted he would.

She had been doing a project to create a computerized stethoscope, and tested it on him. To her tests there was an anomaly. When he tried a doctor, their tests told them he was fine. Nine months later he died of a heart attack.

The event of her husband's death, ended up pushing her to work all the harder on her project. She invented a device she calls "CADence". CADence picks up the sound of blood trying to push through a blocked passage, much the same way human ears hear water rushing through rocks.

The device can fit in one hand, takes measurements at four different places on the chest, and within two minutes all the information is analyzed. It is much cheaper than current methods, and has already saved lives.

In June, her company AUM Cardiovascular, will begin clinical trials of CADence country wide. And depending on FDA approval, could hit markets by October 2013.