Background: The area of application of electronic stethoscopes in medical diagnostics\ncovers the scope of usability of the acoustic stethoscopes, from which they have\nevolved and which they could potentially replace. However, the principle of operation\nof these two groups of diagnostic devices is substantially different. Thus, an important\nquestion arises, regarding the differences in parameters of the transmitted sound and\ntheir potential diagnostic consequences in clinical practice.\nMethods: In order to answer this question, heart auscultation signals are recorded\nusing various stethoscopes and divided into short fragments based on the analysis of\nthe synchronized recordings of electrocardiogram signals. Next, a dedicated algorithm\nis used to extract representative datasets for each case, which are then analyzed for\ntheir acoustic parameters. Four different electronic stethoscopes were investigated,\ntogether with an acoustic stethoscope as a reference point.\nResults: The determined acoustic characteristics of the considered stethoscopes differ\nsignificantly between each other.\nConclusions: The differences in sound transmitted by various stethoscope models\nmay translate into significant differences in quality of the obtained diagnosis. It is also\npointed out, that the terminology and application guidelines regarding the electronic\nstethoscopes are misleading and should be changed.
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