Have you ever wondered if the sound of your knees cracking when you stand up from your desk after a few hours is a normal sound part of aging, or maybe the result of something more sinister? KneeVoice Inc.’s newest patent application (U.S. App. No. 20200289082) teaches a method and device that could shed some light on the mysterious noises the joints in the human body make. The application, titled “Assessing Joint Condition Using Acoustic Sensors” teaches a method that uses a wearable device similar to a knee brace to record the acoustic noises from the wearer’s knee. These noises are then transmitted to the wearer’s smart phone, and can be shared with doctors, physical therapists, surgeons, and other medical specialists. The system uses AI to classify the received signals to “identify patterns of friction, crepitus, or joint cracks in a simple and non-invasive way.” 

These signals can be used to diagnose underlying joint issues, gauge therapy receptiveness, and estimate surgery success rates. U.S. App. No. ‘082 is KneeVoice Inc.’s 2nd application, and the company also holds a singular patent for similar technology. The AI musculoskeletal sector is not a very crowded sector yet, and surprisingly, Facebook Inc. actually currently has the most documents in the sector. Other competitors in the sector include medical device giant Psomagen Inc., and two other smaller startups, JointVue LLC., and Bionic Yantra Limited. Make sure to subscribe to the Magic Number® AI Biotech/Diagnostic Patent Forecast® to keep a close eye on the emerging AI musculoskeletal sector!