Cough localization for the detection of respiratory diseases in pig houses

In this paper, an algorithm is proposed for localizing cough sounds by using the difference in arrival time of a sound signal between different microphones. To assess the accuracy of the proposed method, estimated positions of a reference sound were compared with real positions in various microphone configurations. All the configurations showed a good position estimation, with mean error between 1.5 and 0 m, and a maximum standard deviation on the error of 0.4 m. The algorithm was also applied on the localization of coughing pigs in a stable in field condition. Using this method it was possible to localize cough attacks of pigs. During a 3 h recording trial, sound was recorded using seven microphones in which 179 coughs were collected, originating from 19 cough attacks. After mapping the locations in the stable, three hazard zones could be identified. This information can be used for visualizing the spread of respiratory diseases and eventually contribute to the reduction of the use of antibiotics by means of selective and early treatment of single pens in stead of the whole compartment.