Advanced search×

Cough sound description in relation to respiratory diseases in dairy calves

S Ferrari, R Piccinini, M Silva, V Exadaktylos, D Berckmans, and M Guarino

Prev Vet Med 96(3-4):5 (2010) PMID 20633937

Cough can be a biomarker in case of respiratory diseases. By monitoring and analyzing cough sounds through automatic devices, the farmer can obtain an early warning about a developing outbreak of respiratory infections. Cough sounds can be characterized by particular acoustic features (amplitude, frequency and duration) that are obtained by sound recording, labeling and analytic procedures. Based on these features, it might be possible to develop an automated cough recognition system. The aim of the study described in this paper is to investigate whether it is possible to discriminate cough sounds from other frequently occurring sounds in youngstock stables. Nasal swabs and blood were taken to identify the microbiological agents responsible for the respiratory problems. The collected cough sounds were compared to metal rack sounds, which are very common sounds in cattle farming, to identify acoustic differences between them. Results show that the length of cough sounds was significantly different from metal rack sounds (0.34 versus 0.37s, P<0.05). Also, the analysis of amplitude and fundamental frequency showed significant differences between both types of sounds (resp. 0.21 and 0.18; 1326 and 3868HZ). This indicates that it is possible discriminate cough sounds from other sounds and that cough sound can be used as a non-invasively diagnostic tool for respiratory diseases in youngstock groups.

Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2010.06.013
Version: za2963e q8zae q8zbf q8zc7 q8zd6 q8zeb q8zf0 q8zgb

Similar articles you may find interesting…

  1. Intravesical chemotherapy plus bacille Calmette-Guérin in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer: a systematic review with meta-analysis
    Baerin B Houghton, Venu Chalasani, and Martin R Stockler

    BJU Int 111(6):977-983 (2013) PMID 23253618

    Adjuvant therapy with induction BCG followed by maintenance BCG is the appropriate standard of care for patients with resected NMIBC at high risk of recurrence. Further trials are warranted to test the effects of adding chemotherapy to BCG in patients with Ta or T1 disease, but not in those with Tis...
  2. A cross-sectional assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice among Hepatitis-B patients in Quetta, Pakistan.
    Noman Ul Haq, Mohamed Azmi Hassali, and Hisham Aljadhey

    BMC Public Health 13(1):448 (2013) PMID 23641704

    Out of 390 patients, 223 (57.2%) were males, with the majority (136, 34.9%) in the age group of 38--47 years. Mean age of the study cohort was 32.6 +/- 9.5 years. One hundred and four (26.7%) had primary level education, with 110 (28.2%) working in the private sector. The mean scores for knowledge,...
    PDF not found
  3. Costs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in relation to compliance with guidelines: a study in the primary care setting.
    Marc Miravitlles, Antoni Sicras, and Maria Isabel Riera

    Ther Adv Respir Dis (2013) PMID 23653458

    The cost of COPD may vary according to compliance with the GOLD guidelines. The cost observed for patients with stage II disease is higher than expected in patients who adhere to treatment, but patients with stage III disease treated according to the GOLD guidelines had significantly higher treatmen...