A Comparative Study to Measure Audible Release (Crepitus) From Human Joints

Non-impulse and Impulse based therapy approaches are often preferred over surgery because they are non-invasive. These techniques are often accompanied by audible release (crepitus) from the human joints. The sounds emitted by a damaged joint can be correlated with an ailment, which can provide more information to a practitioner and improve the success of the treatment. However, background noise is usually mixed with the captured sound, which can affect the quality of diagnosis. Cumbersome setup is another problem in widespread use of audio-based treatment methods. The goal of this study is to design a compact clinical tool to excite and capture crepitus, while eliminating the background noise. In this regard, three different sensors — an accelerometer, a condenser microphone, and a contact microphone — are utilized to record crepitus, and they are compared with one another based on their noise content, ease of use, and cost efficiency. The results of this study showed that contact microphone is the most suitable sensor for this purpose. Based on this selection, a compact design is suggested for the clinical tool, which includes a contact microphone.