---
title: Sounds From the Heart
date: 2026-09-04T11:00:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://terp.umd.edu/sounds-from-the-heart"
section: Articles
---
# Sounds From the Heart

*September 4, 2026* — by [Karen Shih ’09](/authors/karen-shih-09)


- *Photo by John T. Consoli*

> Alum’s device enables at-home tracking of cardio, lung problems.

*Anand Akshaya Korion Health Heart Monitor 06182026 JC 9160 1920x1080 — Akshaya Anand ’19, M.P.S. ’23 demonstrates how to use SoundHeart, an electronic stethoscope guided by a user interface on a mobile app, which she co-created.*

**HEART DISEASE IS THE LEADING CAUSE** of death around the world, claiming victims from far-flung villages in Kenya to cities along the American Rust Belt. Soon, a portable, patient-driven device co-created by a UMD graduate could empower millions of people to better track their heart health, wherever they are.

SoundHeart, an electronic stethoscope guided by a user interface on a mobile app, enables patients to reliably record heart and lung sounds at home and securely share them with a physician.

“We want to reach as many patients as we can, especially those who face barriers to accessing in-person care,” says Akshaya Anand ’19, M.P.S. ’23, chief operating officer of Korion Health (“cor” means “heart” in Latin).

This fall, telehealth companies and health systems will be able to purchase the device for their patients to monitor chronic health conditions, collect long-term data and catch changes between visits. SoundHeart also enables early detection of symptoms related to congestive heart failure, valvular disease or asthma.

Anand met co-founder Anna Li, a University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University M.D./Ph.D. student, at a hackathon in 2021 and was spurred by Li’s experiences with sicker-than-usual patients coming to the emergency room because they couldn’t access regular care during the pandemic. They homed in on the stethoscope after interviewing healthcare providers, and their idea won the $1 million Hult Prize in 2024, beating nearly 10,000 teams of young people from around the world.

That funding enabled them to grow their team to five employees, navigate the hurdles of getting medical device clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and buy materials, equipment and robotic assembly tools for the manufacturing process. After additional clinical trials in the U.S. and abroad, they plan to release the product directly to consumers.

“We had a pretty steep learning curve,” says Anand, but she credits UMD resources like [Startup Shell ](https://startupshell.org/)and the [Dingman-Lamone Center for Entrepreneurship](https://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/centers-initiatives/dingman-lamone-center) for mentorship and networking opportunities. “Every day I wake up motivated and excited, working on something to help others in the community. That makes all the difference.”




**Issue:** [Fall 2026](https://terp.umd.edu/editions/fall-2026)


**Types:** [Post-Grad](https://terp.umd.edu/category/post-grad)