Exploring Microphone Technologies for Digital Auscultation Devices
Matteo Zauli,
Lorenzo Mistral Peppi,
Luca Di Bonaventura,
Valerio Antonio Arcobelli,
Alberto Spadotto,
Igor Diemberger,
Valerio Coppola,
Sabato Mellone,
Luca De Marchi
Affiliations
Matteo Zauli
ARCES—Advanced Research Center on Electronic Systems for Information and Communication Technologies “Ercole De Castro”, University of Bologna, 40136 Bologna, Italy
Lorenzo Mistral Peppi
ARCES—Advanced Research Center on Electronic Systems for Information and Communication Technologies “Ercole De Castro”, University of Bologna, 40136 Bologna, Italy
Luca Di Bonaventura
STMicroelectronics, ARCES, 40136 Bologna, Italy
Valerio Antonio Arcobelli
Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering “Guglielmo Marconi”, University of Bologna, 40136 Bologna, Italy
Alberto Spadotto
Institute of Cardiology, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, Policlinico S.Orsola-Malpighi, via Massarenti 9, 40138 Bologna, Italy
Igor Diemberger
Institute of Cardiology, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, Policlinico S.Orsola-Malpighi, via Massarenti 9, 40138 Bologna, Italy
Valerio Coppola
ARCES—Advanced Research Center on Electronic Systems for Information and Communication Technologies “Ercole De Castro”, University of Bologna, 40136 Bologna, Italy
Sabato Mellone
Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering “Guglielmo Marconi”, University of Bologna, 40136 Bologna, Italy
Luca De Marchi
Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering “Guglielmo Marconi”, University of Bologna, 40136 Bologna, Italy
The aim of this work is to present a preliminary study for the design of a digital auscultation system, i.e., a novel wearable device for patient chest auscultation and a digital stethoscope. The development and testing of the electronic stethoscope prototype is reported with an emphasis on the description and selection of sound transduction systems and analog electronic processing. The focus on various microphone technologies, such as micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMSs), electret condensers, and piezoelectronic diaphragms, intends to emphasize the most suitable transducer for auscultation. In addition, we report on the design and development of a digital acquisition system for the human body for sound recording by using a modular device approach in order to fit the chosen analog and digital mics. Tests were performed on a designed phantom setup, and a qualitative comparison between the sounds recorded with the newly developed acquisition device and those recorded with two commercial digital stethoscopes is reported.
