Software for Diagnostics of Mitral Valve Prolapse: Economic Implications

Abstract

This paper proposes innovation through “translation” of phonocardiogram signal obtained from electronic stethoscope into an algorithm, procedure and software that gives an opportunity to each primary-care physician either in town or hardly reachable countryside to reliably and cost effectively diagnose mitral valve prolapsed (MVP) without engagement of resources such as highly specialized diagnostic methods that are available only in modern clinical centers, expensive equipment and complex training of experienced cardiologists for interpretation of results together with high maintenance costs analysis its cost-effectiveness. Till now very few research address the cost-effectiveness of various approaches to the patient undergoing medical evaluation, so this paper analyses the economic feasibility of MVP software application through cost-benefit framework. The pay-back period of the invested funds is 4 years and it represents a good investment, while critical sales price is 159 euros per software license and switching number of installations is 429 units.