Simultaneous Phonocardiography and Electrocardiography Using Smartphone in Dogs, Cats and Horses

A phonocardiographic device was constructed using a microphone connected to a stethoscope tube and a smartphone and synchronized with a wireless electrocardiographic sensor attached precordially to the animal's chest and connected to the smartphone via Bluetooth technology. Cardiac sounds and murmurs were recorded simultaneously with the animal's electrocardiogram on the smartphone in 18 animals (eight dogs, seven horses and three cats). Ten of these animals (six dogs, three horses and one cat) were cardiac patients with various murmurs detected on the phonocardiogram and nine were healthy animals. The quality and synchronization of recorded heart sounds and murmurs relative to the recorded electrocardiogram was assessed in order to analyse this prototype device in practice.