A Comparison of Infrasonic and Audio Components in the Seismocardiogram

Johannes Struijk1, Peter Søgaard2, Kasper Sørensen3, Lana Barawi1, Bertram Vorm1, Mette Thomsen1, Samuel Schmidt1
1Aalborg University, 2Aalborg University Hospital, 3Ventriject


Abstract

INTRODUCTION - The seismocardiogram (SCG) is mostly limited to the infrasonic region of the acoustic spectrum even though the transducers also record higher frequencies. In an earlier study, a comparison of SCG and ECHO showed that the closing of the aorta valve happens before the peak in the SCG that many authors have associated with this event. Moreover, within the audible band a transient higher frequency event is often seen during the S1 sound, possibly coinciding with aorta opening. A simultaneous analysis of the higher frequency sounds and the SCG may improve our understanding of the SCG. METHODS - Data were available from 44 normal subjects. We manually analyzed the S1 complex in the SCG in two frequency bands: 1-25 Hz (LF) and 40-400 Hz (HF) and annotated the following events: mitral valve closure in both frequency bands, the main peak in the LF SCG as fiducial point for aorta opening, and the start of the high frequency transient in the HF sound as a hypothesized indicator for aorta opening. RESULTS - The estimated timing of the mitral valve closure in the HF band was 2.4 ms earlier than in the LF band (sd = 3.2 ms). The estimated timing of aorta opening was 14.3 ms (sd = 12.2 ms) earlier in the HF band as compared with the LF band. Consequently, the estimated isovolumetric contraction time was 39 versus 51 ms. CONCLUSION - The estimated mitral valve closures in the LF and HF bands of the SCG were almost identical, whereas there was a clinically significant difference between the estimations of the aorta openings. The latter agrees with our earlier work where SCG and ECHO were compared. The true origin of the high frequency transient in the audible frequency band is still open for discussion.