Physical examination is a fundamental skill in primary medicine and is often used as the tool with which to determine whether a referral of patients to a specialist is necessary or not. In all over the world, auscultation of the human heart by the use of a stethoscope is still the primary diagnostic tool for detecting and judging the class (innocent or pathological) of cardiac murmurs. The delayed recognition of a pathological heart murmur may have a serious impact on the long-term outcome of the affected patient. Although experienced cardiologists can usually evaluate heart murmurs with a high sensitivity and specificity, non-specialists with less clinical experience (primary care physicians) may have more difficulty. Also the ability of the human ear to distinguish defects from the sound of a heartbeat (single heart beat) is very limited. Therefore, an automated system for an additional recording and analysis of the cardiac sounds could enable primary care physicians to make the initial diagnosis objectively.
展开▼
