Skip to main content

A System for Recording High Fidelity Cough Sound and Airflow Characteristics

Annals of Biomedical Engineering volume 38, pages 469–477 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

Cough is considered an early sign of many respiratory diseases. Recently, there has been increased interest in measuring, analyzing, and characterizing the acoustical properties of a cough. In most cases the main focus of those studies was to distinguish between involuntary coughs and ambient sounds over a specified time period. The objective of this study was to develop a system to measure high fidelity voluntary cough sounds to detect lung diseases. To further augment the analysis capability of the system, a non-invasive flow measurement was also incorporated into the design. One of the main design considerations was to increase the fidelity of the recorded sound characteristics by increasing the signal to noise ratio of cough sounds and to minimize acoustical reflections from the environment. To accomplish this goal, a system was designed with a mouthpiece connected to a cylindrical tube. A microphone was attached near the mouthpiece so that its diaphragm was tangent to the inner surface of the cylinder. A pneumotach at the end of the tube measured the airflow generated by the cough. The system was terminated with an exponential horn to minimize sound reflections. Custom software was developed to read, process, display, record, and analyze cough sound and airflow characteristics. The system was optimized by comparing acoustical reflections and total signal to background noise ratios across different designs. Cough measurements were also collected from volunteer subjects to assess the viability of the system. Results indicate that analysis of cough characteristics has the potential to detect lung disease.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

43,34 €

Price includes VAT (Finland)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8

References

  1. Barry, S. J., A. D. Dane, A. H. Morice, and A. D. Walmsley. The automatic recognition and counting of cough. Cough 2:8, 2006.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Coyle, M. A., D. B. Keenan, L. S. Henderson, M. L. Watkins, B. K. Haumann, D. W. Mayleben, and M. G. Wilson. Evaluation of an ambulatory system for the quantification of cough frequency in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Cough 1:3, 2005.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. David Leith, J. B., S. Sneddon, and J. Brain. Cough. Baltimore, MD: American Physiology Society, 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Day, J. B., W. T. Goldsmith, J. Barkley, J. W. Day, A. A. Afshari, and D. G. Frazer. Identification of individuals using voluntary cough characteristics. Proc. Biomed. Eng. Soc. Meet. 97, 2004.

  5. Fontana, G. A., and J. Widdicombe. What is cough and what should be measured? Pulm. Pharmacol. Ther. 20:307–312, 2007.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Frazer, D. G., W. T. Goldsmith, N. Salahudding, J. S. Reynolds, A. A. Afshari, and E. L. Petsonk. Analysis of cough sounds as an index of lung disease. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 157:A86, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Irwin, R. S., and J. M. Madison. The diagnosis and treatment of cough. N. Engl. J. Med. 343:1715–1721, 2000.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Kohler, D., M. Klauke, and B. Schonhofer. A new portable monitor for long-term cough recording. Pneumologie 51:555–559, 1997.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Korpas, J., M. Vrabec, J. Sadlonova, D. Salat, and L. A. Debreczeni. Analysis of the cough sound frequency in adults and children with bronchial asthma. Acta Physiol. Hung. 90:27–34, 2003.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Matos, S., S. S. Birring, I. D. Pavord, and D. H. Evans. An automated system for 24-h monitoring of cough frequency: the Leicester cough monitor. IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng. 54:1472–1479, 2007.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Murata, A., Y. Taniguchi, Y. Hashimoto, Y. Kaneko, Y. Takasaki, and S. Kudoh. Discrimination of productive and non-productive cough by sound analysis. J. Intern. Med. 37:732–735, 1998.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Reynolds, J. S., K. J. S. Stemple, T. R. Ebeling, and D. G. Frazer. Nonlinear model for offline correction of pulmonary waveform generators. IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng. 49:1567–1573, 2002.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Smith, J. A., H. L. Ashurst, S. Jack, A. A. Woodcock, and J. E. Earis. The description of cough sounds by healthcare professionals. Cough 2:1, 2006.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Smith, J., and A. Woodcock. New developments in the objective assessment of cough. Lung 186:S48–S54, 2008.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Thorpe, C. W., W. R. Fright, L. J. Toop, and K. P. Dawson. A microcomputer-based interface cough sound analysis system. Comput. Methods Prog. Biomed. 36:33–43, 1991.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Van Hirtum, A., and D. Berckmans. Automated recognition of spontaneous versus voluntary cough. Med. Eng. Phys. 24:541–545, 2002.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Vrabec, M., J. Korpas, and L. A. Debreczeni. Use of recording methods and sound analysis of cough in the study of sound phenomena associated with respiration. Bratisl. Lek. Listy. 98:141–145, 1997.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Affiliations

  1. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Health Effects Laboratory Division, Pathology and Physiology Research Branch, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV, 26505, USA

    W. T. Goldsmith, A. M. Mahmoud, J. S. Reynolds, W. G. McKinney, A. A. Afshari, A. A. Abaza & D. G. Frazer

  2. Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA

    W. T. Goldsmith & J. S. Reynolds

  3. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA

    A. M. Mahmoud

  4. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cairo University, Cairo, 12613, Egypt

    A. M. Mahmoud & A. A. Abaza

Authors
  1. W. T. Goldsmith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. A. M. Mahmoud
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. J. S. Reynolds
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. W. G. McKinney
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. A. A. Afshari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. A. A. Abaza
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. D. G. Frazer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to W. T. Goldsmith.

Additional information

Disclosures: The findings and conclusions of this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Goldsmith, W.T., Mahmoud, A.M., Reynolds, J.S. et al. A System for Recording High Fidelity Cough Sound and Airflow Characteristics. Ann Biomed Eng 38, 469–477 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-009-9830-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-009-9830-y

Keywords

  • Cough recording system
  • Cough sounds
  • Cough airflow
  • Lung sounds