Patent ID: 7517319

Claim:
A system for analyzing sounds originating in at least a portion of an individual's cardiovascular system comprising: (One) N transducers, where N is an integer, each transducer configured to be fixed on a surface of the individual over the thorax, the ith transducer being fixed at a location x i and generating an initial signal P(x i ,t) indicative of pressure waves at the location x i , for i=1 to N; and (Two) a processor configured to receive the signals P(x i ,t) and to filter the signals P(x i ,t) so as to generate filtered signals in which at least one component of the signals P(x i ,t) not arising from cardiovascular sounds has been removed wherein respiratory tract sounds have been removed, and wherein the processor is further configured to determine an average acoustic energy {tilde over (P)} (x,t 1 ,t 2 ) arising from the cardiovascular system at at least one position x over a time interval from a first time t 1 to a second time t 2 , {tilde over (P)} being determined in an algorithm involving at least one of the processed signals, wherein the function {tilde over (P)} is determined at one or more locations x in an algorithm comprising: (One) determining an average acoustic energy {tilde over (P)} (x i ,t 1 ,t 2 ) over a time interval from t 1 to t 2 at a plurality of locations x i of transducers; and (Two) determining an average acoustic energy {tilde over (P)} (x,t 1 , t 2 ) at at least one location x by interpolation of the determined {tilde over (P)} (x i ,t 1 , t 2 ).