Modulated integrated optically pumped vertical cavity surface emitting lasers are formed by integrating an electrically pumped semiconductor laser and a vertical cavity surface emitting laser together with a means of direct modulation of the electrically pumped semiconductor laser. The microchip array includes multiple sample spots to be separately analyzed. Additionally, the modular sensing apparatus includes a connector and a temperature sensor pre-selected by a user, such that the connector is attached to a pressure port. The ports are configured for communicating the call data between the ports. The fibers generally include an ethylene based polymer exhibiting a molecular weight distribution of from about 2 to about 8. The pre-processed patient heart sound signal is segmentised and features are extracted therefrom to build up a feature vector which is representative of the heart sound signal.