Method and device for automatically determining heart valve damage

• US 20060089560A1
• Filed: 02/18/2005
• Published: 04/27/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Inventors: Kuo, Tsung-Ter, Liang, Ming-Kaan, Su, Mao-Shun, Chou, Yu-Kon
• Granted Patent: US 7,479,113 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/528
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 7/04 Electric stethoscopes microphones, acoustic transducers therefor H04R

Abstract

A method and device for automatically detecting heart valve damage for four heart valves are proposed. The automatic determination method makes use of three or more heart tone microphones to simultaneously record heart tones of a patient'"'"'s heart, and then separates the heart tones into four heart tone signals of the aortic valve, the pulmonary valve, the tricuspid valve and the mitral valve of the heart based on the timing characteristics and related techniques. Next, these four heart tone signals are digitally processed into sampling signals. Subsequently, the convolution method is used to process the sampling signals for producing system transfer functions. Finally, the system transfer functions and the reference database are compared to verify and determine damage for the four heart valves. The automatic determination method can judge heart valve damage to enhance the quality and convenience of medical treatment.

Claims

1. A method for automatically determining heart valve damage, comprising the steps of:

installing a reference database for storing relationship data between accumulated clinical damage of heart valves and heart tones in advance;

using heart tone microphones to pick up and record heart tones;

separating said heart tones into four heart tone signals of the aortic valve, the pulmonary valve, the tricuspid valve and the mitral valve of the heart based on the timing characteristics and related techniques;

digitally processing said separated heart tone signals into sampling signals;

making use of a convolution method to manipulate said sampling signals for producing system transfer functions; and

separately comparing said system transfer functions of said heart valves with said reference database to verify and determine damage of said four heart valves.

2. The method for automatically determining heart valve damage as claimed in claim 1, wherein three or more said heart tone microphones are used to pick up and record simultaneously said heart tones.

3. The method for automatically determining heart valve damage as claimed in claim 1, wherein said heart tones are separated into four heart tone signals of the heart valves based on the timing characteristics, and the heart tone signals are obtained by subtracting the heart tone measured at the pulmonary valve from the heart tone measured at the aortic valve, subtracting the heart tone measured at the aortic valve from the heart tone measured at the pulmonary valve, subtracting the heart tone measured at the tricuspid valve from the heart tone measured at the mitral valve, and subtracting the heart tone measured at the mitral valve from the heart tone measured at the tricuspid valve.

4. The method for automatically determining heart valve damage as claimed in claim 1, wherein impulse responses are used to calculate said system transfer functions.

5. A device for automatically detecting heart valve damage, comprising:

heart tone microphones for recording heart tones;

a signal processing system connected with said heart tone microphone and used for digital processing said heart tones recorded by said heart tone microphone and operation and comparison of system transfer functions; and

a display connected with said signal processing system and used to display heart valve damage.

6. The device for automatically detecting heart valve damage as claimed in claim 5, wherein a number of said heart tone microphones is three or more.

7. The device for automatically detecting heart valve damage as claimed in claim 5, wherein said signal processing system comprises:

a reference database for storing relationship data between accumulated clinical heart valve damage and heart tones;

a heart tones separating unit connected with said heart tone microphones and used to separate said heart tones into four heart tone signals of the aortic valve, the pulmonary valve, the tricuspid valve and the mitral valve of the heart based on timing characteristics and related techniques;

a heart tone signal digital processing unit connected with said heart tones separating unit and used to process said separated heart tone signals of the heart valves into sampling signals;

a convolution unit connected with said heart tone signal digital processing unit and used to process said sampling signals for producing system transfer function through a convolution method; and

a comparison unit connected with said convolution unit and said reference database and used to compare separately said system transfer functions of the four heart valves to detect heart valve damage for four heart valves.

8. The device for automatically detecting heart valve damage as claimed in claim 7, wherein said heart tones separating unit subtracts the heart tone measured at the pulmonary valve from the heart tone measured at the aortic valve, subtracts the heart tone measured at the aortic valve from the heart tone measured at the pulmonary valve, subtracts the heart tone measured at the tricuspid valve from the heart tone measured at the mitral valve, and subtracts the heart tone measured at the mitral valve from the heart tone measured at the tricuspid valve.

9. A device for automatically detecting heart valve damage, comprising:

a reference database for storing relationship data between accumulated clinical heart valve damage and heart tones;

heart tone microphones for recording heart tones;

a heart tones separating unit connected with said heart tone microphones and used to separate said heart tones into four heart tone signals of the aortic valve, the pulmonary valve, the tricuspid valve and the mitral valve of the heart based on timing characteristics and related techniques;

a heart tone signal digital processing unit connected with said heart tones separating unit and used to process said separated heart tone signals of the heart valves into sampling signals;

a convolution unit connected with said heart tone signal digital processing unit and used to process said sampling signals for producing system transfer function through a convolution method;

a comparison unit connected with said convolution unit and said reference database and used to compare separately said system transfer functions of the four heart valves to determine heart valve damage for the four heart valves; and

a display connected with said signal processing system and used to display heart valve damage.

10. The device for automatically detecting heart valve damage as claimed in claim 9, wherein a number of said heart tone microphones is three or more.

11. The device for automatically detecting heart valve damage of heart valves as claimed in claim 9, wherein said heart tones separating unit subtracts the heart tone measured at the pulmonary valve from the heart tone measured at the aortic valve, subtracts the heart tone measured at the aortic valve from the heart tone measured at the pulmonary valve, subtracts the heart tone measured at the tricuspid valve from the heart tone measured at the mitral valve, and subtracts the heart tone measured at the mitral valve from the heart tone measured at the tricuspid valve.