Mobile System for Acquisition and Processing of Body Sounds

This paper presents the development of the prototype of a digital stethoscope using a smartphone. Initially, it presents the importance of Biomedical Engineering in medical solutions and key concepts of listening to body sounds, focusing on understanding the acquisition processes of cardiac, pulmonary, and gastrointestinal signals. The main methods of digital signal filtering are discussed through the digital signal processing approach, which is the focus of this work. It also mentions the application of mobile computing in the medical field. With an understanding of these concepts, we developed an external device and an Android operating system app capable of acquiring and filtering body signals, resulting in a prototype of a digital stethoscope. The process of developing the data acquisition system and the results of tests conducted are also presented, providing a final discussion about the importance of smartphone features in medical practice, besides possible improvements to the current project.