Browsing by Author "Mhandu, Esau"
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Item Building a low-cost biomedical device to improve accuracy in pneumonia diagnosis in under five children.(Ashesi University, 2019-04) Mhandu, EsauPneumonia has been the leading cause of death among children under the age of five in sub-Saharan Africa, killing more children than the number of children dying from HIV/AIDS. The current methods of diagnosing pneumonia are limited by poor sensitivity and accuracy and they are also expensive. In this project, a low-cost biomedical device was designed and developed to improve the accuracy in diagnosing pneumonia hence assisting in correct prescription of drugs to children. Sounds waves were transmitted from a surface exciter which was connected to an Arduino-powered circuit. The sounds waves were allowed to pass through one side of a lung phantom made of sponge and were detected on the other side using an electronic stethoscope. 4 dry sponges and four wet sponges were used to represent a healthy lung and a pneumonia consolidated lung respectively. The sound signals detected by the electronic stethoscope were analyzed using the Digital Signal Processing toolboxes in Audacity and MATLAB software. The difference in the resonant frequencies when the sound waves traveled through the dry and wet sponges was used to diagnose pneumonia. The device uses a non-invasive method which does not cause any health defects, unlike the chest x-ray method which can cause cancer due to its use of electromagnetic radiation to diagnose pneumonia. The results were then discussed for the design and application in pneumonia diagnosis in infantsItem Development of a low-cost biomedical device to enhance pneumonia diagnosis in children(MRS Advances, 2020) Mhandu, Esau; Danyuo, YiporoPneumonia has contributed greatly to child mortality, especially among children under the ages of five in sub-Saharan Africa, killing more children than the number of children dying from HIV/AIDS. The current methods of diagnosing pneumonia involved physical examination and chest x-ray which are limited by low accuracy, high error margins, higher cost, and stands the risks of inducing cancer. In this work, a low-cost, non-invasive biomedical device was designed and developed to improve accuracy in diagnosing pneumonia. The device functions to detect fluid in a lung consolidated by pneumonia. Dry grouting sponge was used as a phantom for a healthy lung, while a wet sponge was used to mimic a pneumoniaconsolidated lung. Surface exciter was used to produce sound waves which travelled through one side of the phantom and are detected on the other end using an electronic stethoscope. The signals detected were digitally analyzed using MATLAB and AUDACITY software. The differences in resonant frequencies from the power spectrum analysis of sound waves as they travelled through the sponges were used to distinguish between a pneumonia-consolidated lung and a healthy lung.