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Screening for congenital heart diseases by murmurs using telemedical phonocardiography

Gabor Fodor1, Ádám T Balogh, Gábor Hosszú

  • 1Department of Electron Devices, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary. fodor@eet.bme.hu

Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual International Conference
|February 1, 2013
PubMed

Insights

This study introduces phonocardiography as a novel screening tool for congenital heart diseases (CHD), offering a reliable, at-home alternative to expensive echocardiography. It effectively detects heart murmurs, improving early diagnosis during pregnancy.

Area of Science:

  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Cardiology
  • Fetal Medicine

Background:

  • Congenital heart diseases (CHD) are often undetected during pregnancy or infancy.
  • Turbulent blood flow in CHD can cause heart murmurs, but current screening methods like Doppler ultrasound cardiotocography (CTG) are insufficient.
  • Echocardiography is accurate but costly and requires specialized expertise, limiting its use in widespread screening.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To present phonocardiography as a new, accessible screening method for certain CHDs.
  • To integrate phonocardiography with Doppler ultrasound CTG for enhanced fetal cardiac assessment.
  • To enable reliable, at-home screening for early detection of fetal heart abnormalities.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing phonocardiography to record fetal heart sounds.
  • Combining phonocardiography with Doppler ultrasound CTG.
  • Evaluating a large dataset of fetal heart sound recordings for diagnostic capability.
  • Assessing the feasibility of home-based, repeated measurements.

Main Results:

  • Phonocardiography demonstrates diagnostic capability for screening certain CHDs.
  • The method can be integrated with existing CTG technology.
  • Home-based measurements increase reliability and facilitate early detection.
  • Pregnant women find the method easy to use and prefer it for examinations.

Conclusions:

  • Phonocardiography offers a promising, cost-effective screening solution for CHD.
  • Integration with CTG and home-use potential enhance its utility in prenatal care.
  • This method can improve the detection rates of congenital heart diseases, especially in resource-limited settings.

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