Estimation of Fundamental and Formant frequencies of infants’ cries; a study of Infants with congenital Heart disorder

A congenital heart disease (CHD) is a defect in the structure of the heart and great vessels of a newborn.CHD s are classified into Cyanotic and Acyanotic. The most common cyanotic heart disorder in infants is Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). Among Acyanotic heart disorders, Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD), Atrial Septal Defect (ASD), and Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) are common. The present work aims at estimating the features of fundamental frequency (Mean, Maximum and Minimum) and the formant frequencies (First, Second and Third) of infant cries with TOF, VSD, ASD, PDA heart disorders. In the present study a total of 75 infant cries are investigated. The fundamental frequency and formant frequencies are estimated using frequency domain (Cepstrum) and Linear Prediction Code (LPC) methods. The results show that the fundamental frequencies of cries of infants with TOF, VSD, ASD, PDA, and healthy infant cry signal are in the range of 364Hz to 396 Hz, 435 Hz to 447 Hz, 435 to 467 Hz, 553 Hz to 584 Hz and 367 Hz to 409 Hz respectively. Such parameters provide useful information in the early diagnosis of heart disorders in infants. Keywords; Infant cry; CHD; Fundamental frequency; Formant Frequency