Modern measurement of physical signals is based on the use of sensors, electronic signal
conditioning, analog-to-digital conversion and digital signal processing carried out by dedicated
software. The same signal chain is used in many devices such as home appliances, automotive
electronics, medical instruments, and smartphones. Teaching the theoretical, experimental, and
signal processing background must be an essential part of improving the standard of higher
education, and it fits well to the increasingly multidisciplinary nature of physics and engineering
too. In this paper, we show how digital phonocardiography can be used in university education as a
universal, highly scalable, exciting, and inspiring laboratory practice and as a demonstration at
various levels and complexity. We have developed open-source software templates in modern
programming languages to support immediate use and to serve as a basis of further modifications
using personal computers, tablets, and smartp…