Abstract

Heart valve disease has a large and growing burden, with a prognosis worse than many cancers. Screening with a traditional stethoscope is underutilised, often inaccurate even in skilled hands, and requires time-consuming, intimate examinations.

In this talk I will present a handheld device designed to enable untrained users to record high-quality heart sounds without requiring patients to undress. The device, developed at the CUED Acoustics Lab, incorporates multiple high-sensitivity sensors embedded in a flexible substrate that conforms to the contours of the human body.

The use of multiple sensors allows us to address challenges from localised heart sound vibrations and noise interference. I will introduce a time-frequency signal quality algorithm which we have developed to allow automated selection of the best sensor in the device and rejection of recordings with insufficient diagnostic quality.

A validation study conducted at CUED demonstrates the device’s effectiveness across a diverse range of body types, with multiple sensors significantly increasing the likelihood of a successful recording. The device has the potential to enable accurate, accessible and low-cost heart disease screening.