Cough sound discrimination in noisy and reverberant environments using microphone arrays

Cough sound discriminator algorithms are capable of distinguishing between dry and wet cough types. The performance of such algorithms, however, is affected by noise and reverberation which might exist in patients' environments. In this thesis, the performance of the previously developed cough sound discriminator in a noisy and reverberant room is quantitatively measured using Linear Separation Score. Experiments revealed a significant decrease in the performance of the cough sound discriminator in the presence of noise and reverberation using a single microphone for the cough sound acquisition. In order to improve this performance, a microphone array structure which included a maximum of 7 microphones was designed with a delay-and-sum beamformer. Experiments showed a significant improvement in the performance of the cough sound discriminator using a microphone array in noisy and reverberant environments. Finally, a Graphical User Interface was developed in order to visualize the beampattem emitted by the microphone array structure.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Engineering, Biomedical

Grantor dc:publisher

Carleton University

Year dc:date.issued

2012

Author dc:creator

• Moradshahi, Payam

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © 2012 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, research, scholarship, and teaching. Theses may only be shared by linking to Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be used without proper attribution to the author. No part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

10.22215/etd/2012-06746

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/36266