Patent ID: 7546236

Claim:
A computer implemented method of recognizing anomalies in acoustic data representative of an analog waveform, the analog waveform varying in value as a function of time and having a plurality of cycles, the acoustic data comprising a one-dimensional ordered sequence of data elements, each element being representative of a respective analog value, the method comprising: using at least one computer with accessible input/output and at least one data store to perform the following steps: (i) selecting a test group of test elements from the acoustic data; (ii) selecting a comparison group of comparison elements from the acoustic data; (iii) performing a comparison between the analog values of the test group and the analog values of the comparison group, the comparison involving the test elements of the test group on the one hand and the comparison elements of the comparison group on the other hand; (iv) determining as a result of the comparison whether there is a match or a mismatch between the analog values of the test group and the analog values of the comparison group; (v) repeating steps (ii), (iii), and (iv), incrementing the value of a mismatch counter each time a mismatch is found; (vi) determining an anomaly measure representative of the anomaly of one or more of the test elements, the anomaly measure being dependent on mismatch counter value and being produced in said at least one data store.