Abstract
Asthma is a chronic disease that is commonly suffered by children. Asthmatic children have a lower quality of life than other children. Physicians and pediatricians recommend that parents record the frequency of attacks and their symptoms to help manage their children's asthma. However, the lack of a convenient device for monitoring the asthmatic condition leads to the difficulties in managing it, especially when it is suffered by young children. This work develops a wheeze detection system for use at home. A small and soft stethoscope was used to collect the respiratory sound. The wheeze detection algorithm was the Adaptive Respiratory Spectrum Correlation Coefficient (RSACC) algorithm, which has the advantages of high sensitivity/specificity and a low computational requirement. Fifty-nine sound files from eight young children (one to seven years old) were collected in the emergency room and analyzed. The results revealed that the system provided 88% sensitivity and 94% specificity in wheeze detection. In conclusion, this small soft stethoscope can be easily used on young children. A noisy environment does not affect the effectiveness of the system in detecting wheeze. Hence, the system can be used at home by parents who wish to evaluate and manage the asthmatic condition of their children.
Highlights
Asthma is a major health concern in many countries
Most Computerized Respiratory Sound Analysis (CORSA) methods use traditional stethoscopes that are integrated with a microphone that acts as the sound collector
Traditional stethoscopes are made of metal, which helps to insulate the noise from the ambient, and their size supports their stability
Summary
Asthma is a major health concern in many countries. 300 million people suffer from it [1], and the hospitalization rate of children for asthma is five times that of adults [2]. Regular medical attention and monitoring of the pulmonary function can reduce life-threatening asthma attacks [3]. Physicians and pediatricians recommend that parents record the frequency and symptoms of asthma attacks in children, but parents may overestimate the severity of asthma because of their worry about their children and their lack of experience [4]. The mostly used common device for monitoring asthma is the peak flow meter, but, it depends on forced exhalation, and so cannot be used on young children (zero to four years old). Children older than four can effectively learn to use a peak flow meter
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