title: Cough detection algorithm for monitoring patient recovery from pulmonary tuberculosis.
abstract: In regions of the world where tuberculosis (TB) poses the greatest disease burden, the lack of access to skilled laboratories is a significant problem. A lab-free method for assessing patient recovery during treatment would be of great benefit, particularly for identifying patients who may have drug-resistant tuberculosis. We hypothesize that cough analysis may provide such a test. In this paper we describe algorithm development in support of a pilot study of TB patient coughing. We describe several approaches to event detection and classification, and show preliminary data which suggest that cough count decreases after the start of treatment in drug-responsive patients. Our eventual goal is development of a low-cost ambulatory cough analysis system that will help identify patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis.
authors.affiliation: Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA. btracey@eecs.tufts.edu
authors.forename: Brian H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Tracey
authors.forename: Germán
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Comina
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Larson
authors.forename: Marjory
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bravard
authors.forename: José W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: López
authors.forename: Robert H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Gilman
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001314:Auscultation / Q000379:methods*; D003371:Cough / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D020127:Recovery of Function; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012135:Respiratory Sounds; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013018:Sound Spectrography / Q000379:methods; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents