Chi Mei Medical Center

Jen-Yin Chen

Bor-Shyh Lin

Jhi-Joung Wang

Ming-Jen Sheu

A method, a system and a program product for evaluating an intestinal function using bowel sounds are disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: A. continuously monitoring an abdominal cavity of an examinee within a specific time by using an audio collection apparatus, collecting a bowel sound signal of an intestinal tract inside the abdominal cavity, and converting the bowel sound signal into a digital signal; B. using higher-order statistics (HOS), by a processing unit, to remove noise from the digital signal; C. using a fractal dimension algorithm, by the processing unit, to capture a high-complexity feature from the digital signal, and defining the high-complexity feature as an intestinal motility signal, and D. evaluating the intestinal function of the examinee, by the processing unit, according to the intestinal motility signal.

Method, system and program product for evaluating intestinal function using bowel sounds

A bowel sound analysis method and system utilizes an audio collection apparatus to continuously monitor an abdominal cavity of an examinee and collect a bowel sound signal of an intestinal tract inside the abdominal cavity, converts the bowel sound signal into a digital signal, then removes noise from the digital signal by using higher-order statistics (HOS) and captures a high-complexity feature from the digital signal by using fractal dimension algorithm, and subsequently defines the high-complexity feature as an intestinal motility signal. Therefore, according to the intestinal motility signal, a time point when intestinal motility occurs in the intestinal tract inside the abdominal cavity of the examinee can be learned, and bowel sound features such as the amplitude, frequency, and period of the intestinal motility signal may further be analyzed to determine a health condition of the intestinal tract.

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Tainan, Taiwan

Jen-Yin Chen