I would like to conduct a research on heart sound.
I'm looking for an arduino that listens to heart and transmit the data via bluetooth?
I've only been able to capture sound sensor arduinos, I'm not sure if they're all suited.
Please provide any advice and guidance.
Appreciate it.
Thanks
You will need to be more precise about what you want to do e.g. what exactly do you mean when you say you want "an Arduino that listens to the heart and transmit the data via bluetooth", what does "listen" mean what "data" do you want to send and how often?
Using a shield Arduinos can communicate by bluetooth.
Would you not be better attaching a microphone to the person and just sending the sound over a mobile phone though?
ardly:
You will need to be more precise about what you want to do e.g. what exactly do you mean when you say you want "an Arduino that listens to the heart and transmit the data via bluetooth", what does "listen" mean what "data" do you want to send and how often?Using a shield Arduinos can communicate by bluetooth.
Would you not be better attaching a microphone to the person and just sending the sound over a mobile phone though?
Apologies so being imprecise.
I'm pretty much new to arduino world, and I honestly don't even know if I require an arduino for heart sound.
So the whole concept is the following.
In current health care implementation, we have whats called stethoscope, which the doctor places part of your body and listens to heart beat. So in similar concept, I'm looking for a device that pretty much listens to heart beat (aka heart sound). In scope of this question, let us assume any type of data format is any. Once the device is attached, it should send in real-time.
I really needed bluetooth for this because Im trying to transmit that data to a mobile app.
Microphone could be ideal but not sure if it is too sensitive to listening to heart. i.e. how does the microphone gather data and how would it send data? In what data format will the sound be sent?
A microphone transforms sound waves (or other vibrations) into an electrical signal. That's all. After that you have to do something with the signal - Arduinos are not the best suited for handling actual sound. Little memory and limited computing power are the problems.
In your case you've to look for a microphone with the components that can digitise the signal and send it out over bluetooth. That shouldn't be too hard - lots and lots of mobile phone earpieces do just that.
Using a simple microphone to listen to a heartbeat won't work well - you need to use some sort of doppler.
What you are going to need is an ultrasonic stethoscope with an audio output on it. I looked on eBay and they are a little pricey - $200 for a Medasonics II unit. This would be 'plug and play' since there is already an audio output on it.
Fortunately I see they also sell fetal dopplers for around $40 - you might want to experiment with one of those, but it seems it would require a little more hacking.
Ideally you could have a small self-contained disc about the size of a silver dollar that a patient could stick on their chest and transmit via bluetooth to a smartphone.
Good luck!
-Chris
I was not sure if you wanted to "listen" to the heart electronically by attaching electrodes or acoustically using a microphone. Since you are trying to replicate a stethoscope you will need a microphone.
how does the microphone gather data and how would it send data? In what data format will the sound be sent?
Those are questions for you to answer as you specify your project. You said you want the data sent in real time but now you are saying you want to "gather" it - that implies the data is not sent in realtime but is stored first.
If I took a mobile phone and held it to my chest I bet you could hear my heart. You could then listen to it or record the sound or both. Is that roughly what you are trying to do, if not what are the differences.
@cpbiomed wrote;
Using a simple microphone to listen to a heartbeat won't work well - you need to use some sort of doppler.
Why is that? If the objective is to replicate a stethoscope can a microphone not achieve that?
I am guessing that the Patient is not with the Doctor and the aim might be to listen to the heart from a distance with very little equipment at the patient end. I am not shure why bluetooth is mentioned.
Since mobiles come with connectors for headsets I would have thought a it should be possible to easily connect a suitable microphone direct to the phone and then place it on the patient's chest. The patient could probably listen in to make sure they have placed the mic correctly.
ardly:
I was not sure if you wanted to "listen" to the heart electronically by attaching electrodes or acoustically using a microphone. Since you are trying to replicate a stethoscope you will need a microphone.Those are questions for you to answer as you specify your project. You said you want the data sent in real time but now you are saying you want to "gather" it - that implies the data is not sent in realtime but is stored first.
If I took a mobile phone and held it to my chest I bet you could hear my heart. You could then listen to it or record the sound or both. Is that roughly what you are trying to do, if not what are the differences.
Sorry shouldve used the right term. I meant how does the microphone transmit data.
The answer to your question is yes. In a nutshell, all my focus really is to somehow pass sound waves to an app via bluetooth.
What bothers me is looking for a device. Since I'm planning to do this as a research project, I'm not really looking for specialized like ultrasonic sound device, but just something simple that sends sound saves. It doesn't have to be precisely accurate.
Since I have little to 0 experience, I can't really base my opinion, as wvmarle said arduinos are bad for real time data.
ardly:
@cpbiomed wrote;Why is that? If the objective is to replicate a stethoscope can a microphone not achieve that?I am guessing that the Patient is not with the Doctor and the aim might be to listen to the heart from a distance with very little equipment at the patient end. I am not shure why bluetooth is mentioned.
Since mobiles come with connectors for headsets I would have thought a it should be possible to easily connect a suitable microphone direct to the phone and then place it on the patient's chest. The patient could probably listen in to make sure they have placed the mic correctly.
So basically the whole concept is the following:
I'm trying to replicate stethoscope data combining ECG data to provide more accurate heart failure detection.
From what I researched, there isn't a device that provides ECG and stethoscope as one. So I'm merely relying on using two different device, get their data via Bluetooth and analyse it.
My methods maybe very bad, but if any of you have an alternative choice of device, I'd appreciate it.
As someone suggested that microphone could do the job well for replicating Stethoscope. For ECG we could use something like this: (AD8232 Heart Rate Monitor Hookup Guide - SparkFun Learn).
But my current situation is not very stable in terms of device choices.
Naseebullahsafi:
My methods maybe very bad, but if any of you have an alternative choice of device, I'd appreciate it.
I have the feeling that you have to ask this on medical forums. This is a specialised type of device, not something your average hobby user will dabble with, and iirc Arduino explicitly excludes medical applications.
The EEC device you quoted specifically states;
NOTE: This device is not intended to diagnose or treat any conditions.
Skimming through the info on the EEC device it seems to communicate with a PC over the serial line, not bluetooth.
I don't see why a microphone would not give a similar result to listening to a persons chest with a stethoscope but you need to try it out.
Is the Doctor going to be beside the Patient?
Why do you mention bluetooth?
One problem I can forsee if there is any kind of storage is synchronising the EEC signal with the heartbeat sound.
What about the EEC device you mentioned attached to a PC via an Arduino and the PC also recoding the heart beat from a microphone?
ardly:
The EEC device you quoted specifically states;Skimming through the info on the EEC device it seems to communicate with a PC over the serial line, not bluetooth.I don't see why a microphone would not give a similar result to listening to a persons chest with a stethoscope but you need to try it out.
Is the Doctor going to be beside the Patient?
Why do you mention bluetooth?One problem I can forsee if there is any kind of storage is synchronising the EEC signal with the heartbeat sound.
What about the EEC device you mentioned attached to a PC via an Arduino and the PC also recoding the heart beat from a microphone?
Please bear in mind, any of these devices does not have to treat or diagnose. The whole purpose is to make it easy for one to see their heart rhythm on a smart phone.
Picture this scenario:
Instead of you going to your local gp to conduct ECG and wait for the result to come back, what if we had an alternative to do ECG on yourself from home and get result on our phones instantly.
If we had an arduino for ECG that just passes raw data to somewhere over Bluetooth, then it will be enough for me to do analysis myself somewhere in the serve, and based on my analysis I will pass that to an app where the user can see their result.
This is all I'm doing. Theoretically this looks very simple to me. However what really puts me off is the right device.
Based on the answers given, I have decided to look for a stethoscope for heart sound (but I haven't found a digital stethoscope that can send data via Bluetooth)
So all in all, Two devices is all we need, one that just computes ECG data and sends it over via Bluetooth.
Another that sends data of sound waves of the heart via Bluetooth.
I also dont know how microphone would actually work, because if I attach microphone to my phone headset, then I cant put my phone on to my chest to get the readings, because I would need phone to see heart rhythm in real-time. In other words, while im testing devices, the data is updated in app.
Hope this can answer some questions.
#8
I'm trying to replicate stethoscope data combining ECG data to provide more accurate heart failure detection.
#11
Please bear in mind, any of these devices does not have to treat or diagnose
You are not being very consistent about your requirements.
ardly:
#8#11
You are not being very consistent about your requirements.
#8 is the overall requirement, but it does not include such functionality within the device.
The analysis will be a separate thing, which is out of scope for this question.
ardly:
#8#11
You are not being very consistent about your requirements.
I have the feeling OP is quite consistent.
OP appears to have little or no medical background, has no idea how a real ECG works, and is most likely looking to produce a "self diagnosis" device like you see heaps on the market - just look at all those heart rate monitors and whatnot, not medical devices, do not produce valid medical info, but they do produce something that looks like it.
wvmarle:
I have the feeling OP is quite consistent.OP appears to have little or no medical background, has no idea how a real ECG works, and is most likely looking to produce a "self diagnosis" device like you see heaps on the market - just look at all those heart rate monitors and whatnot, not medical devices, do not produce valid medical info, but they do produce something that looks like it.
I see.
Ok, I'll try to do more research on this matter. If I find a solution, I'll post it here.
Thanks for the help everyone! Really appreciate it.
Naseebullahsafi:
I see.Ok, I'll try to do more research on this matter. If I find a solution, I'll post it here.
Thanks for the help everyone! Really appreciate it.
Your research must also include the frequency range you need. Most microphones will have a low frequency cut off and a high frequency cut off and will not be linear in between. This is why really good mikes cost.
Paul
@Naseebullahsafi, do not cross-post.
Apologies, I shan't bring this up in multiple threads.
Paul_KD7HB:
Your research must also include the frequency range you need. Most microphones will have a low frequency cut off and a high frequency cut off and will not be linear in between. This is why really good mikes cost.Paul
I see. I will keep this in mind.
Thank you 