Data Science Talk Series 

Acoustic Intelligence for Everyday Healthcare (Online)

Abstract: Acoustic intelligence is reshaping how everyday technology interacts with human health. Commodity devices such as smartphones, wearables, and earphones are evolving into powerful sensing platforms capable of capturing physiological signals through the human body, enabling continuous, unobtrusive, and scalable health monitoring in real-world settings. This talk presents a vision for transforming everyday devices into intelligent acoustic health sensors for accessible and affordable healthcare. Dr. Dong Li will first highlight his recent work, Acoustoscillogram, which demonstrates that low-cost wired earbuds can detect subtle skin vibrations induced by arterial pulsations, enabling non-invasive cardiovascular monitoring using commodity hardware. He will then introduce his article, From Hearing to Feeling: Unlocking Through-Skin Acoustic Sensing on Smartphones, which explores how smartphones can be transformed into through-skin acoustic sensing platforms for next-generation health applications.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3770690
https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3793236.3793238 

Bio of the speaker: Dr. Dong Li is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where he directs the Future Sensing and Interaction Lab. His research focuses on transforming everyday devices such as smartphones, earphones, and smart speakers into intelligent health sensing platforms using acoustic and wireless sensing, multimodal AI, and human-centered system design. His work aims to democratize access to affordable and non-invasive physiological monitoring for cardiovascular health, mental well-being, and human computer interaction. Dr. Li has published extensively in leading systems, sensing, and HCI venues and is the recipient of multiple research awards and grants supporting his vision of scalable and accessible healthcare technologies.