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. 2022 Aug 27;22(17):6465.
doi: 10.3390/s22176465.

Novel Design of a Multimodal Technology-Based Smart Stethoscope for Personal Cardiovascular Health Monitoring

Heejoon Park  1 , Qun Wei  1   2 , Soomin Lee  3 , Miran Lee  4
Affiliations

Novel Design of a Multimodal Technology-Based Smart Stethoscope for Personal Cardiovascular Health Monitoring

Heejoon Park et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

Heart sounds and heart rate (pulse) are the most common physiological signals used in the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. Measuring these signals using a device and analyzing their interrelationships simultaneously can improve the accuracy of existing methods and propose new approaches for the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we have presented a novel smart stethoscope based on multimodal physiological signal measurement technology for personal cardiovascular health monitoring. The proposed device is designed in the shape of a compact personal computer mouse for easy grasping and attachment to the surface of the chest using only one hand. A digital microphone and photoplehysmogram sensor are installed on the bottom and top surfaces of the device, respectively, to measure heart sound and pulse from the user's chest and finger simultaneously. In addition, a high-performance Bluetooth Low Energy System-on-Chip ARM microprocessor is used for pre-processing of measured data and communication with the smartphone. The prototype is assembled on a manufactured printed circuit board and 3D-printed shell to conduct an in vivo experiment to test the performance of physiological signal measurement and usability by observing users' muscle fatigue variation.

Keywords: cardiovascular health; heart sound; multimodal; phonocardiogram (PCG); photoplethysmogram (PPG); pulse; smart stethoscope; usability.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the study design; collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; writing of the manuscript; or decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Design of the shape of proposed smart stethoscope: (a) top of the device and (b) bottom of the device.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Proposed smart stethoscope PCB manufacture: (a) PCB artwork design; (b) Manufactured PCB.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Structure of the proposed multimodal smart stethoscope in 3D.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Pictures of assembled proposed multimodal smart stethoscope prototype: (a) top view of the prototype’s top; (b) top view of the prototype’s bottom; (c) top view of grasping the prototype; (d) side view of grasping the prototype.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Pictures of the experimental setup for evaluating the performance and usability: (a) Photo of a subject in the performance test of physiological signal measurement; (b) auscultation positions; (c) EMG measurement with the prototype; (d) EMG measurement with a standard stethoscope.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Example of heart sound (PCG) and pulse (PPG) signal measured by the prototype and MP160: (a) PCG signal delineated by the prototype device; (b) PCG signal delineated by MP160; (c) PPG signal delineated by the prototype; (d) PPG signal delineated by MP160.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Example of EMG signals in performance and usability tests: (a) EMG signals for heart sound at four measurement positions; (b) EMG signals comparison between prototype and standard stethoscope.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Values of RMS and MEF for EMG data were measured in two tasks: (a) RMS value for flexor digitorum profundus muscle in the first task; (b) MEF value for flexor digitorum profundus muscle in the first task; (c) RMS value for superficial muscle in the second task; (d) MEF value for superficial muscle in the second task.
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