Enhancing pediatric congenital heart disease detection using customized 1D CNN algorithm and phonocardiogram signals

Congenital heart disease (CHD), impacting around 1 % of infants worldwide, constitutes a significant healthcare challenge. Early detection is crucial, however constrained by the intricacies of conventional diagnostic techniques such as auscultation and echocardiography. This research presents a tailored one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1D-CNN) for the classification of phonocardiogram (PCG) signals into normal or abnormal categories, providing an automated and efficient solution for congenital heart disease (CHD) diagnosis. The model was trained on a composite dataset consisting of local pediatric PCG signals and publicly accessible dataset. Preprocessing methods, such as low- and high-pass filtering (60-650 Hz), resampling, and noise reduction, were utilized to enhance signal quality. Data augmentation techniques, including chunking, padding, and pitch-shifting, were employed to rectify dataset imbalances and improve model efficacy. Experimental results indicate substantial enhancements, attaining an accuracy of 98.56 %, precision of 98.56 %, F1 score of 98.55 %, sensitivity of 0.98, and specificity of 0.99. The comparative analysis demonstrates the proposed approach's superiority over current methods regarding accuracy and reliability. The research highlights the promise of combining modern signal processing with deep learning for efficient CHD screening. The suggested model exhibits outstanding performance yet, issues like dataset variability and noise persist. Future endeavors involve extending to multiclass categorization and assessing performance across a wider range of medical problems. This study represents a significant advancement in accessible, automated CHD diagnoses, enhancing clinical competence to elevate pediatric treatment.