Development of a Low-Cost Wireless Phonocardiograph With a Bluetooth Headset under Resource-Limited Conditions

Abstract

Commercially available digital stethoscopes can be used as a phonocardiograph to record heart sounds. However, procuring a costly digital stethoscope may not be possible under resource-limited conditions. A low-cost, wire connected, and mobile phone-assisted phonocardiograph has been reported previously. The aim of this study was to develop a low-cost and wireless phonocardiograph for resource-limited settings. A Bluetooth headset was dismantled to find its microphone. A stethoscope ear knob was cut to make a small bell and it was attached to the microphone. This modified Bluetooth headset was capable of recording sounds while connected to a mobile device with audio recording application. The modified Bluetooth headset, mobile phone, and audio recording software can serve as a wireless phonocardiograph (WiPCGh). Heart sounds were successfully recorded with the help of the newly developed WiPCGh. The audio files were shared with a personal computer (PC) via Bluetooth. The wave form was analyzed in a PC-based audio editing application. First and second heart sounds with systolic and diastolic murmur were identified. WiPCGh can be utilized in recording heart sounds for academic and telemedicine purposes. However, the capability of WiPCGh in the diagnosis of cardiac diseases is yet to be explored in future studies.

Cardiac Electromechanical Activity in Healthy Cats and Cats with Cardiomyopathies

“…Nowadays, the advancements in smartphones, applications, databases and algorithms for heart sound analysis have enabled not only the simple applications of phonocardiography [43][44][45], but also simultaneous ECG recording, which allows accurate measurements of electromechanical events [24]. Modern technology, which includes wireless PCG [44][45][46], developed acoustic sensors [43] and new methods of simultaneous PCG and ECG [47], will certainly contribute to an even more remarkable assessment of cardiac dynamics in the future [26].…”

A comparative study of single-channel signal processing methods in fetal phonocardiography

“…In addition, it is a completely passive method, where neither the mother nor the fetus is exposed to any type of radiation, as is the case with CTG [10]. Due to its non-invasiveness, simplicity, and low cost, the fPCG method could become an alternative to CTG suitable for long-term measurement and could also become a technique used for remote home monitoring [11,12]. The disadvantage of the method is the sensitivity to a wide range of noise, which needs to be filtered in order to obtain clinically valuable information.…”

e-Health in Cardiovascular Medicine

“…The study highlights the importance of technology and ongoing research in identification of screening tools that can potentially guide clinical decision-making. The paper by Mondal et al [9] provides an example of how an e-Health hardware device is initially developed. The work itself outlines the development of a low-cost wireless phonocardiograph with a Bluetooth headset [9].…”

“…The paper by Mondal et al [9] provides an example of how an e-Health hardware device is initially developed. The work itself outlines the development of a low-cost wireless phonocardiograph with a Bluetooth headset [9]. Importantly, the work emphasises the potential value of e-Health in low resource settings.…”