Abstract
Pertussis is a contagious respiratory disease which mainly affects young children and can be fatal if left untreated. The World Health Organization estimates 16 million pertussis cases annually worldwide resulting in over 200,000 deaths. It is prevalent mainly in developing countries where it is difficult to diagnose due to the lack of healthcare facilities and medical professionals. Hence, a low-cost, quick and easily accessible solution is needed to provide pertussis diagnosis in such areas to contain an outbreak. In this paper we present an algorithm for automated diagnosis of pertussis using audio signals by analyzing cough and whoop sounds. The algorithm consists of three main blocks to perform automatic cough detection, cough classification and whooping sound detection. Each of these extract relevant features from the audio signal and subsequently classify them using a logistic regression model. The output from these blocks is collated to provide a pertussis likelihood diagnosis. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated using audio recordings from 38 patients. The algorithm is able to diagnose all pertussis successfully from all audio recordings without any false diagnosis. It can also automatically detect individual cough sounds with 92% accuracy and PPV of 97%. The low complexity of the proposed algorithm coupled with its high accuracy demonstrates that it can be readily deployed using smartphones and can be extremely useful for quick identification or early screening of pertussis and for infection outbreaks control.
Highlights
Pertussis, called whooping cough, is a contagious respiratory disease caused by Bordetella pertussis bacteria in lungs and airways [1]
An algorithm for automated pertussis diagnosis is presented with additional identification of other diagnostic features
The algorithm consists of Logistic Regression Model (LRM)-based classifiers for whooping sound detection, cough sound detection, and cough sound classification
Summary
Called whooping cough, is a contagious respiratory disease caused by Bordetella pertussis bacteria in lungs and airways [1]. Its early symptoms include persistent dry coughs that progress into intense spells of coughing. This is usually, but not always, followed by a whooping sound due to the patient gasping for air. It mainly affects infants and young children and can be fatal if left untreated. The latest World Health Organization official report on the disease (2008) estimated 16 million cases of pertussis annually worldwide resulting in approximately 200,000 deaths [2]. Estimates from Public Health Agency of Canada report an even higher prevalence with up to 40 million cases each year resulting in 400,000 deaths [3]. PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0162128 September 1, 2016
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