Tabla

Principal Investigator: Adam Rao
Team Members: Yasha Saxena, MS

Challenge

Pneumonia is the number-one cause of death in children worldwide. The clinical gold standard for diagnosis--chest x-ray, which works by detecting inflammatory fluid in the lungs--is inaccessible to patients in low-resource settings due to prohibitive costs. 

Solution

Tabla aims to provide a rapid acoustic method of diagnosing pneumonia, expediting treatment, and saving lives. The device sends controlled audio waves through the chest to detect fluid buildup in the lungs through signal distortion that is characteristic of pneumonia.

Honors & Awards

Surgical Innovations Accelerator (Fall 2018)
NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Fellowship (2018)
UCSF PDC Accelerator and People's Choice Awards (2017)
Fast Company Innovation by Design Award (2017)
Rudd Family Foundation Big Ideas Contest Grand Prize (2017)

Featured Media

Student-designed medical device wins Fast Company award - University of California News - September 20, 2017
UC Berkeley, UCSF team getting attention for device that helps diagnose pneumonia - ABC 7 News - September 19, 2017