Bioacoustics : a tool for diagnosis of respiratory pathologies in pig farms

Cough is the element for monitoring and diagnosis of respiratory disease cause of mortality and loss of productivity in pig houses. In order to prevent as much as possible the outbreak of such diseases the aim of this research is to describe acoustic features of cough sounds originating from infections due to Actinobacillosis and Pasteurellosis and to compare them with healthy cough sounds provoked by inhalation of citric acid. The acoustic parameters investigated are peak frequency [Hz] and duration of cough signals. The differences resulting from the cough sound analysis confirmed a variability in acoustics parameters according to a state of health or disease in the animals. Sound analysis provides physic acoustic features that can be used as tool to label and detect cough in a automatic monitoring system applied in farms.