June 11, 2025
In a remarkable achievement, School of Computing and Information (SCI) Assistant Professor Longfei Shangguan and his interdisciplinary research team received the prestigious Best Paper Award at MobiCom 2024, the top international conference on mobile computing and networking. The award recognizes their paper introducing Asclepius, a novel medical device that repurposes recycled earphones as digital stethoscopes to enhance remote healthcare.
Shangguan shared what a great honor it was to receive this award as this year there was only one Best Paper Award given, and it was the result of the hard work of his research team and collaborators from Google, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Georgia and Zhejiang University in China. The development process involved close collaboration with cardiologists, hardware prototyping, securing Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, and conducting rigorous testing.
The award-winning project was sparked by the clear need exposed during the pandemic which was the limitations of virtual doctor consultations.
“We realized that while video chatting is convenient, it doesn't allow doctors to measure vital health data like heart rate or heart rate variability. They can only observe facial expressions and listen to symptoms—it's far from comprehensive,” Shangguan explained.
This realization led to a broader question: could common, often discarded electronic devices be repurposed for health monitoring? Shangguan and his team's basic observation was that “People in the U.S. or Europe might upgrade their phones every few years and just leave the old ones in drawers. But in underserved communities, like parts of Africa, people often can't afford high-end devices like an Apple Watch. They still need access to healthcare, and we want to help bridge that gap.” This sparked the focus on sustainability and equity, in which the team hopes to repurpose discarded earphones and transform them into health-sensing systems for populations who need accessible health technology.
“We’re asking, can we recycle and transform these into medical tools? That’s the core idea,” Shannguan said.
The concept of deploying Earables internationally began somewhat unexpectedly, when a faculty member from Senegal visited the University of Pittsburgh through the Fullbright Fellowship. That connection turned out to be serendipitous. “We started talking because we work in similar domains, and I introduced him to our work on Asclepius. We quickly began asking: could this be useful for underserved communities in Senegal?” That single visit laid the groundwork for what became a collaborative, international effort.
The University of Pittsburgh’s Center for African Studies also played a role, offering internal support and helping connect the research team with partners in Senegal. Although Shangguan didn’t travel with the Center’s organized faculty cohort, he credits their efforts in facilitating international collaboration and laying the foundation for successful global research.
As a result of all of the diverse internal support, the mission had led to international collaboration with researchers in Senegal, which was deeply rewarding but not without its challenges. Beyond the language barrier and distance, Shangguan noted “For many of us, English isn’t our first language, and our collaborators speak Wolof and French, so communication was not always easy,” he shared. “We had to start documenting meeting notes and sharing them to make sure we were aligned.” Limited funding also became an issue when Shangguan's team wanted to bring their collaborators to the US. However, all these challenges were worth it when he visited Senegal in January. He and his student traveled there to conduct a pilot study, demonstrate their devices, and gather feedback from medical school students, faculty, and even villagers. “They were really excited. They asked us when we would come back to deploy the system,” he said. “That was very meaningful for all of us. My students felt proud. They could see that their work might someday be lifesaving.”
“My research philosophy is that we shouldn’t just stay in labs writing papers. We should go out, look around, and see how we can help others," Shangguan said.
Teach Old Sensors New Tricks
Since returning to the U.S., the team has been working on the second version of the hardware, with the goal of deploying a batch of devices in Senegal by the end of the year, and the work has sparked new ideas.
“Definitely, this work has motivated a lot of technical innovations,” Shangguan said. “For example, if you want to use cheap, low-cost earphones for health sensing, traditionally you’d need to add extra sensors to pick up biometrics. But that breaks the earphone’s structure. So we asked: instead of adding sensors, can we reuse the existing ones already inside the earphone?”
They coined the approach: teach old sensors new tricks.
“We discovered that certain hardware components can serve a second function. But it’s not easy—these reused sensors have lower resolution and accuracy, so we had to develop software techniques to amplify weak signals, like faint heart sounds heard from the ear canal,” said Shangguan. That challenge inspired creative hardware and software solutions and opened the door to broader applications, such as monitoring blood pressure through the ear.
“For elderly people or those with high blood pressure, imagine how convenient it would be to monitor their health just using an ordinary earphone,” Shangguan said. “That’s what we’re working on now.”
Technical Challenges
One major technical challenge in developing Earables is the issue of noise—unwanted signals picked up alongside the useful biometric data. When asked whether there’s noise in what can be estimated from ear devices and how the team copes with it, Shangguan explained:
“Essentially, you can get a lot of different sounds and noise from your ear canal. For example, if you are walking, if you are doing some exercise, all these body motions—they generate vibration signals. These vibrations propagate into your ear canal, and we can grab them,” he said.
To manage this, the team first dove into data analysis to better understand how these extraneous signals differ from the vital signs they’re targeting. Depending on if the signal operates at a higher or lower frequency, which is different from the working frequency, they filter out those signals. For other signals that share the same frequency as their target, they explore deep learning techniques to disentangle them.
The approach blends rigorous experimentation with algorithm design. “As experimental researchers, we start by carefully designing benchmark studies to better understand both the noise and the target signals. Then we begin designing different kinds of algorithms to deal with that.”
Bridging Industry and Academia: A Researcher’s Perspective
Before joining the University of Pittsburgh, Shangguan spent four years working in industry. When asked how academic research compares to his prior experience, he pointed to the contrast in pace and flexibility.
He mentioned how in academia, you can really cultivate and spend your time on a project—one year, two years, or even longer—on something you’re really excited about. But in contrast, in industry the research must move quickly. And while Shangguan appreciates industry’s grounding in practical needs, in academia he can brainstorm problems that are interesting but may not be practical. Academic research also allows for freedom in direction. “Today I’m excited about mobile health, but if tomorrow I feel passionate about robotics, I can switch. I’m the boss,” he said with a laugh. “In industry, you’re usually recruited for a specific research direction set by your manager, and you need to stick with it.”
Despite the trade-offs, Shangguan finds deep satisfaction in the academic environment. “Yes, I’d say I have more passion here,” he said. “The ability to dive deep, explore ideas, and work with students makes this feel like the right space to do meaningful, long-term work.”
Empowering Health Through Asclepius
The Asclepius project aligns closely with one of SCI's ideological pillars: empowerment. Shangguan sees the potential of the technology to give individuals more control over their own health and well-being.
“I do believe Earables is a very powerful platform for mobile health,” he said. Shangguan mentioned how heavily we rely on wearable technology for health monitoring, take your Smartwatch for example. We use our arms so frequently—for cooking, running, everything—that it's hard to get consistent data. That’s a limitation. In contrast, earphones sit in a relatively stable environment. When you’re running or cooking, the earbud remains sealed in the ear canal. That makes it a much more reliable place to gather health signals. Major tech companies seem to agree.
“There are rumors that the next generation of AirPods will include heart rate sensors,” Shangguan noted. “More and more companies are trying to add smart sensors into earbuds to monitor vital signs.”
And that’s just the beginning. Shangguan envisions a future where everyone has a personalized AI assistant built into their earphones. “Talking to your AI assistant through your earphone, without needing to use your hands—that’s a really promising direction for accessibility and daily convenience.”
Inspiring the Next Generation
As a researcher, Shangguan hopes his work doesn’t just solve today’s problems—it lights a path for others to follow. With Earables, the aim is not just to innovate but to inspire.
“In academia, we’re always trying to find trends,” he said. “What could be practical in five or ten years? What’s worth paying attention to now, even if it doesn’t exist yet? We want to show that this is possible. We want to guide the industry—or at least give them the idea—that this is a direction worth investing in.”