IDENTIFICATION OF ABNORMAL HEART SOUNDS USING LabVIEW

Abstract

Effective interpretation and diagnosis of heart sounds is vital part of daily life to Medical practitioners and health care professionals working in cardiac clinics requires ensuring that the information gathered from the patient is properly interpreted and categorized to its respective categories of Heart sounds(Normal and abnormal). The existing analysis techniques lacksthe most important part needed in daily examination of electrocardiography, (Technique of measurement of heart electrical activity) where the rhythms obtained lively from the patient are displayed or recorded on paper and are not properly categorized which will determine the characteristic of cardiac muscle. The problem is how much effective the interpretation will be on real time detection and display. The expertise required is the time the patient’s gets diagnosed and results for treatment plan, also at the same time and mostly how best junior medical practitioners can interpret the rhythms’ independently. These gaps exist and increases patient long waiting time for results, sometimes Interpretation errors and reduce the confidence of junior practitioner. This thesis work is typically done using virtual instrumentation LabVIEW (Laboratory virtual Instrument Engineering Work Bench) to improve the detection of abnormal Heart sounds by all medical practitioners regardless of their specialty level which reduces the interpretation error and time delay in routine outpatient service by creating cost effective abnormal Heart sound analysis technique. As the heart is divided in four chambers of atrium and ventricle in which mechanical activity produces sound signals which constitute the hearts Sound and in a wave form on a Phonocardiograph. This thesis work is done using Online Abnormal Heart sounds from Thinklabs, Physionet and where LabVIEW software is used for analysis.