Phonocardiogram signal analysis - practices, trends and challenges: A critical review

A PCG (phonocardiogram) is a method of registration of heart sounds, which can be visually represented on a chart. PCG recordings comprise of bio-acoustic statistics indicating the functional condition of the heart. Intelligent and automated analysis of the PCG is therefore very important not only in detection of cardiac diseases but also in monitoring the effect of certain cardiac drugs on the condition of the heart. A critical review of the various methodologies used in the PCG signal analysis has been presented in this paper.