The stethoscope has been used diagnostically for nearly two hundred years to assess the heart function. We can envision the intelligent stethoscope which combines the advantages of the traditional instrument with advanced functionality for analysis of the signal and other information support. The bioacoustic technique is basically simple and robust and fits therefore into a scenario where inves...

The practice of cardiac auscultation is a critical tool used by physicians to detect alterations in the cardiovascular system. A case of both left and right sided endocarditis initially detected by electronic auscultation in a woman with a history of injection drug use is described. The electronic stethoscope, with the ability to amplify heart sounds, established the presence of both a systolic...

We present the use of stethoscope and silicon NAM (nonaudible murmur) microphones in automatic speech recognition. NAM microphones are special acoustic sensors, which are attached behind the talker’s ear and can capture not only normal (audible) speech, but also very quietly uttered speech (nonaudible murmur). As a result, NAM microphones can be applied in automatic speech recognition systems w...

Korotkoff sounds are known to change their characteristics during blood pressure (BP) measurement, resulting in some uncertainties for systolic and diastolic pressure (SBP and DBP) determinations. The aim of this study was to assess the variation of Korotkoff sounds during BP measurement by examining all stethoscope sounds associated with each heartbeat from above systole to below diastole duri...