Precordial Vibrations

Abstract

In the era of medicine, the heart and cardiovascular system has become one of the standard observation targets. Palpation and auscultation in the precordial area is performed as part of the regular physical examination to detect possible cardiovascular and pulmonary problems. However, due to the large number of people suffering from cardiovascular problems, labor-intensive methods such as auscultation might be inefficient in preventive cardiovascular condition screening. Seismocardiography (SCG) could have the potential to be a part of the solution to this problem. SCG is one of many modalities of cardiac-induced vibration measurements, and it has been shown to be of use in detecting coronary artery disease and assessing myocardial contractility. Lately, due to advances in sensor technologies, the SCG measurement is being developed by introducing three-dimensional measurements. Three-dimensional approach is considered to yield more information about the cardiovascular system than any single uniaxial approach. In conclusion, SCG seems to have the potential to offer a complementary view to cardiovascular function and a cost-effective method for screening of cardiovascular diseases. SCG is explored in this chapter.