Validation System for Digital Stethoscopes
Stethoscope auscultation is a diagnostic method widely used by medical professionals. With the introduction of digital stethoscopes, auscultation sound analysis has been objectified, which led to an increased interest in the field. Until today, however, no standard to assess the acoustical propertie...
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2019-09-01
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1515/cdbme-2019-0066 |
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doaj-ae3f031a1b3b47929b68276e26b92e4f2021-09-06T19:19:27ZengDe GruyterCurrent Directions in Biomedical Engineering2364-55042019-09-015126126410.1515/cdbme-2019-0066cdbme-2019-0066Validation System for Digital StethoscopesKlum Michael0Stehling Julian1Pielmus Alexandru2Tigges Timo3Orglmeister Reinhold4Technische Universität Berlin, Chair of Electronics and Medical Signal Processing, Einsteinufer 17,Berlin, GermanyTechnische Universität Berlin, Chair of Electronics and Medical Signal Processing, Einsteinufer 17,Berlin, GermanyTechnische Universität Berlin, Chair of Electronics and Medical Signal Processing, Einsteinufer 17,Berlin, GermanyTechnische Universität Berlin, Chair of Electronics and Medical Signal Processing, Einsteinufer 17,Berlin, GermanyTechnische Universität Berlin, Chair of Electronics and Medical Signal Processing, Einsteinufer 17,Berlin, GermanyStethoscope auscultation is a diagnostic method widely used by medical professionals. With the introduction of digital stethoscopes, auscultation sound analysis has been objectified, which led to an increased interest in the field. Until today, however, no standard to assess the acoustical properties of stethoscopes is available. Some approaches use phantoms mimicking the properties of human soft tissue. In most cases, however, the properties of the phantoms have not been analyzed with respect to environmental variables. In our work, we propose a stethoscope characterization system for the frequency range between 50 Hz and 2.5 kHz with a small financial footprint. We analyzed its frequency behavior over temperature, time and position on the phantom and derived quantitative recommendations for environmental variables. Finally, the frequency response of a commercial digital stethoscope was characterized at different pressure levels. We conclude that the presented system is capable to stably and reproducibly assess the transfer function of digital stethoscopes. We hope that future stethoscope designs will be characterized with respect to their acoustical properties.https://doi.org/10.1515/cdbme-2019-0066digital stethoscopeauscultationacoustical propertiestransfer functiongel phantomweighting |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Klum Michael Stehling Julian Pielmus Alexandru Tigges Timo Orglmeister Reinhold |
spellingShingle |
Klum Michael Stehling Julian Pielmus Alexandru Tigges Timo Orglmeister Reinhold Validation System for Digital Stethoscopes Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering digital stethoscope auscultation acoustical properties transfer function gel phantom weighting |
author_facet |
Klum Michael Stehling Julian Pielmus Alexandru Tigges Timo Orglmeister Reinhold |
author_sort |
Klum Michael |
title |
Validation System for Digital Stethoscopes |
title_short |
Validation System for Digital Stethoscopes |
title_full |
Validation System for Digital Stethoscopes |
title_fullStr |
Validation System for Digital Stethoscopes |
title_full_unstemmed |
Validation System for Digital Stethoscopes |
title_sort |
validation system for digital stethoscopes |
publisher |
De Gruyter |
series |
Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering |
issn |
2364-5504 |
publishDate |
2019-09-01 |
description |
Stethoscope auscultation is a diagnostic method widely used by medical professionals. With the introduction of digital stethoscopes, auscultation sound analysis has been objectified, which led to an increased interest in the field. Until today, however, no standard to assess the acoustical properties of stethoscopes is available. Some approaches use phantoms mimicking the properties of human soft tissue. In most cases, however, the properties of the phantoms have not been analyzed with respect to environmental variables. In our work, we propose a stethoscope characterization system for the frequency range between 50 Hz and 2.5 kHz with a small financial footprint. We analyzed its frequency behavior over temperature, time and position on the phantom and derived quantitative recommendations for environmental variables. Finally, the frequency response of a commercial digital stethoscope was characterized at different pressure levels. We conclude that the presented system is capable to stably and reproducibly assess the transfer function of digital stethoscopes. We hope that future stethoscope designs will be characterized with respect to their acoustical properties. |
topic |
digital stethoscope auscultation acoustical properties transfer function gel phantom weighting |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1515/cdbme-2019-0066 |
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