Automatic diagnostic apparatus with a stethoscope

• US 6,520,924 B2
• Filed: 05/25/2001
• Issued: 02/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Byung-Hoon Lee
• Original Assignee: Byung-Hoon Lee
• Inventors: Lee, Byung Hoon
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoang, Tu Ba
• Application Number:
  US09/865,974
• Publication Number:
  US 20020058889A1
• Time in Patent Office: 634 Days
• Field of Search: 600/485, 600/500, 600/504, 600/509, 600/522, 600/523, 600/528, 600/532, 600/538, 600/586, 181/131, 181/132, 381/67, 381/92
• US Class Current: 600/586
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 7/00 Instruments for auscultation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 7/003 Detecting lung or respiration noise
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 7/008 Detecting noise of gastric tract, e.g. caused by voiding
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 7/04 Electric stethoscopes microphones, acoustic transducers therefor H04R

Abstract

An automatic diagnostic apparatus with a stethoscope is disclosed in which the name of a disease is automatically determined and recorded based on auscultated sounds. Standard data of auscultated sounds for cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases and gastrointestinal diseases are inputted into a computer beforehand. Then the waveforms of the auscultated sounds from stethoscoping a patient are converted into digital data and inputted into a computer, and the digital data signals are compared, with searches, with the standard data which have been inputted into the computer in advance. By this process the names of diseases are determined, and the names of diseases thus determined are automatically recorded in a recording device and displayed on monitors so that treatment can initiate swiftly with enhanced credibility of the objective diagnostic process through consensus between the physician and the patient.

Claims

1. An automatic diagnostic apparatus with a stethoscope which automatically records the name of a disease of a patient and displays the name of the disease on monitors by auscultation comprising:

a stethoscope with a microphone 1 for auscultating a patient and inputting auscultated sounds;

a filter 2 for filtering the noise coming from outside the body of a patient from the auscultated sounds inputted through said stethoscope microphone 1;

an amplifier 3 for amplifying the frequency of the auscultated sounds filtered by said filter 2;

a digital converter 4 for converting the analogue waveform data of the amplified auscultated sounds into digital data;

a computer 5 for inputting the digital data of the auscultated sounds converted by the digital converter 4 for comparison, with search operations, with the standard data of the auscultated sounds of various diseases inputted beforehand;

a recording device 6 which automatically records the computer output; and

a plurality of monitors 7 for displaying the names of diseases.

2. An automatic auscultation diagnostic apparatus, comprising:

a stethoscope with a microphone for inputting auscultated sounds from a patient;

a filter for filtering the auscultated sounds;

an amplifier for amplifying the filtered auscultated sounds;

a digital converter for digitizing waveform data of the amplified auscultated sounds;

a computer including a database of standard data of auscultated sounds corresponding to various diseases, said computer including means for comparing the digitized waveform data received from said digital converter with the standard data of auscultated sounds corresponding to various diseases and identifying matches therebetween; and

a computer output recording device and a device for reading, recording, and diagnosing the auscultated sounds.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 which further includes:

at least one monitor for displaying the names of the diseases corresponding to the matches identified by the computer.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the database of standard data of auscultated sounds include cardiovascular sounds, respiratory sounds and gastrointestinal sounds.