Development of a Low-cost Biomedical Device to Enhance Pneumonia Diagnosis in Children
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MRS Advances © 2020 Materials Research Society DOI: 10.1557/adv.2020.176
Development of a Low-cost Biomedical Device to Enhance Pneumonia Diagnosis in Children E. Mhandu 1 and Y. Danyuo 2, * 1
Ashesi University, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Berekuso, Ghana
2
Ashesi University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Berekuso, Ghana
Abstract Pneumonia has contributed greatly to child mortality, especially among children under the ages of five in sub-Saharan Africa, killing more children than the number of children dying from HIV/AIDS. The current methods of diagnosing pneumonia involved physical examination and chest x-ray which are limited by low accuracy, high error margins, higher cost, and stands the risks of inducing cancer. In this work, a low-cost, non-invasive biomedical device was designed and developed to improve accuracy in diagnosing pneumonia. The device functions to detect fluid in a lung consolidated by pneumonia. Dry grouting sponge was used as a phantom for a healthy lung, while a wet sponge was used to mimic a pneumoniaconsolidated lung. Surface exciter was used to produce sound waves which travelled through one side of the phantom and are detected on the other end using an electronic stethoscope. The signals detected were digitally analyzed using MATLAB and AUDACITY software. The differences in resonant frequencies from the power spectrum analysis of sound waves as they travelled through the sponges were used to distinguish between a pneumonia-consolidated lung and a healthy lung. *Corresponding Author: Email: [email protected], Mobile: +233550505434.
1.0 INTRODUCTION Pneumonia is a respiratory infection that causes inflammation of alveoli in the lungs [1]. Alveoli are air sacs known to be responsible for gaseous exchange (oxygen and carbon dioxide) between the lungs and the bloodstream [1,2]. An inflamed alveolus could be filled with fluid or puss which makes it difficult for a patient with pneumonia to breath due to lack of oxygen [3,4]. When there is a lack of oxygen in the alveoli, it could cause other body organs to malfunction. Typical examples are the malfunctioning of the 1367
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heart and the liver which eventually leads to death [5,6]. The agents responsible for spreading pneumonia include viruses, bacteria and fungi [3,7]. Pneumonia has been a leading worldwide cause of death among children [7]. Yearly statistics shows that pneumonia kills approximately 1.4 million children under the ages of five, accounting for 18 % of all deaths worldwide [7-9]. Pneumonia is highly prevalent in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa [10]. It has been reported that, 50 % of deaths occurred in Africa due to pneumonia, with most deaths being concentrated in the sub-Saharan countries such as Uganda and Malawi. In Uganda, pneumonia caused ~6 m
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