Abstract
In clinical practice and in particular in the diagnostic process, the assessment of cardiac and respiratory functions is supported by electrocardiogram and auscultation. These exams are non-invasive, quick and inexpensive to perform and easy to interpret. For these reasons, this type of assessment is a constant in the daily life of a clinician and the information obtained is central to the decision making process. Therefore, it is essential that during their training, students of health-related subjects acquire skills in the acquisition and evaluation of the referred physiological signals. Simulation, considering the technological possibilities of today, is an excellent preparation tool since it exposes trainees to near real contexts but without the associated risks. Hence, the simulation of physiological signals plays an important role in the education of healthcare professionals, bioengineering professionals and also in the development and calibration of medical devices. This paper describes a project to develop synchronized electrocardiogram (ECG), phonocardiogram (PCG) and breathing sounds simulators that aims to improve an existing phantom simulator. The developed system allows, in an integrated way, to generate normal and pathological signals, being contemplated several distinct pathologies. For engineering education, it is also possible to simulate the introduction of signal disturbances or hardware malfunctions.
Highlights
1.1 Pathologies and Diagnostic methodsCardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are still the number one cause of death globally, taking approximately 17.9 million lives each year corresponding to an estimated 31.8% of all deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) [1]
2.1 ECG simulator Through the graphical user interface (GUI), the ECG simulator allows the selection of several signal parameters, including:
In order to evaluate the functionality of the developed simulators tests were performed for both the ECG and the PCG/Breathing sounds simulators
Summary
1.1 Pathologies and Diagnostic methodsCardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are still the number one cause of death globally, taking approximately 17.9 million lives each year corresponding to an estimated 31.8% of all deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) [1]. Together, are responsible by 43.4 % of deaths worldwide, with increased expression in developed countries. Improving these numbers requires reducing exposure to disease-inducing factors and iJOE ‒ Vol 16, No 14, 2020. Frequent monitoring of cardiac and respiratory functions can be conveniently performed by simple, non-invasive and cost-effective procedures using electrocardiogram (ECG), phonocardiogram (PCG) and auscultation. These simple examinations, provide crucial information for the diagnosis of the above-mentioned diseases and solid education and training in these topics are paramount
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