Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the capability of a piezoelectric sensor to detect a heart murmur in patients with congenital heart defects. Heart sounds and murmurs were recorded using a piezoelectric sensor and an electronic stethoscope in healthy neonates (n = 9) and in neonates with systolic murmurs caused by congenital heart defects (n = 9) who were born at a hospital. Signal data were digitally filtered by high-pass filtering, and the envelope of the processed signals was calculated. The amplitudes of systolic murmurs were evaluated using the signal-to-noise ratio and compared between healthy neonates and those with congenital heart defects. In addition, the correlation between the amplitudes of systolic murmurs recorded by the piezoelectric sensor and electronic stethoscope was determined. The amplitudes of systolic murmurs detected by the piezoelectric sensor were significantly higher in neonates with congenital heart defects than in healthy neonates (p < 0.01). Systolic murmurs recorded by the piezoelectric sensor had a strong correlation with those recorded by the electronic stethoscope (ρ = 0.899 and p < 0.01, respectively). The piezoelectric sensor can detect heart murmurs objectively. Mechanical improvement and automatic analysis algorithms are expected to improve recording in the future.
Highlights
Published: 16 February 2021Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most common congenital anomalies and are present in approximately 1% of live-born infants [1]
It is well known that severe congenital heart disease in the neonatal period can exist without the presence of a murmur or other clinical signs, approximately one-quarter of infants with heart murmurs are diagnosed with CHDs on routine physical examination [2]
The high-pass filtered Piezoelectric sensors (PS) waveforms (Figure 3a) and the heart sound signals (Figure 3b) with various cut-off frequencies ranging from 20 to 200 Hz showed clearly that S1, S2, and the heart murmurs were clearly visualized in the outputs of the PS and the electronic stethoscope
Summary
Published: 16 February 2021Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most common congenital anomalies and are present in approximately 1% of live-born infants [1]. It is well known that severe congenital heart disease in the neonatal period can exist without the presence of a murmur or other clinical signs, approximately one-quarter of infants with heart murmurs are diagnosed with CHDs on routine physical examination [2]. The diagnosis of CHDs in neonates is based on physical examination findings, such as heart murmurs, tachypnea, or cyanosis. The presence of heart murmurs is often the first sign of CHDs [3], and it may be the only clinical sign observed in infants [4]. While experienced clinicians can detect cardiac anomalies accurately by auscultation using a stethoscope alone, it is difficult for trainee physicians [5], which may lead to delayed or missed diagnoses of CHDs [6].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
