Noise-reducing stethoscope
First Claim
1. A noise-reducing stethoscope for sensing body sounds in the presence of ambient noise external to the body, comprising:
- a body sound sensor adapted for coupling to a body to detect primarily the internal body sounds and output in response a body sound electrical signal having a first signal to noise ratio;
an ambient noise sensor, disposed to detect primarily the ambient noise external to the body and output in response an ambient noise electrical signal; and
means for processing said body sound electrical signal and said ambient noise electrical signal to create a third signal having a greater signal to noise ratio than that of said body sound electrical signal.
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Abstract
A noise-reducing stethoscope comprising a body sound sensor for placement on a body to detect internal body sounds and output in response an electrical signal, an ambient noise sensor, proximate the body sound sensor, to detect ambient noise and output in response an electrical signal, and a difference comparator for accepting the electrical signals from both sensors and providing in response a difference signal, in which the difference signal contribution from ambient noise is less than the contribution from ambient noise to the body sound sensor electrical signal to cancel noise artifacts in the body sound sensor electrical signal.
208 Citations
49 Claims
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1. A noise-reducing stethoscope for sensing body sounds in the presence of ambient noise external to the body, comprising:
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a body sound sensor adapted for coupling to a body to detect primarily the internal body sounds and output in response a body sound electrical signal having a first signal to noise ratio; an ambient noise sensor, disposed to detect primarily the ambient noise external to the body and output in response an ambient noise electrical signal; and means for processing said body sound electrical signal and said ambient noise electrical signal to create a third signal having a greater signal to noise ratio than that of said body sound electrical signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A noise-reducing stethoscope, comprising:
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a stethoscope chest piece including a first transducer adapted for placement on a body to detect primarily internal body sounds and output in response a first electrical signal with a contribution from ambient noise external to the body, and a second transducer, proximate the first, to detect primarily the ambient noise and output in response a second electrical signal; means for combining said first and second electrical signals to create a combined signal with a contribution from the ambient noise which is less than the contribution from the ambient noise to said first electrical signal; and a noise-attenuating headset, responsive to said combined signal, and including earphones for playing said combined signal.
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Specification