Source: Thailand Medical News Oct 23, 2019 4 years, 6 months, 3 days, 17 hours, 32 minutes ago
If you see your doctor still using a
stethoscope, then you know it is time to either change doctor or change hospitals. The stethoscope that was invented like two centuries ago is not only obsolete but also totally inaccurate in giving any proper diagnosis compared to latest hightech tools that are easily available these days.
Th Stethoscope Dying?
Although it was a symbol of the medical profession, its these days regarded as a pair of rubber tubes and not the least accurate when compared with the
latest tech gizmos available.
There are numerous new hand-held devices that are also pressed against the chest but rely on ultrasound technology, artificial intelligence and smartphone apps instead of doctors' ears to help detect leaks, murmurs, abnormal rhythms and other problems in the heart, lungs and elsewhere. Some of these instruments can yield images of the beating heart or create electrocardiogram graphs.
Traditionally, nearly every medical school globally, presents incoming students with a white coat and
stethoscope to launch their careers. It's more than symbolic,
stethoscope skills are still taught, and proficiency is required for doctors to get their licenses.
However, over the last ten years, the tech industry has downsized
ultrasound scanners into devices resembling TV remotes. It has also created
digital stethoscopes that can be paired with smartphones to create moving pictures and readouts These devices are nearly as easy to use as
stethoscopes and allow doctors to watch the body in motion and actually see things such as leaky valves. There is no reason to listen to sounds when one can see everything.
The New Tech Butterfly IQ Device
The
Butterfly iQ device, made by Connecticut-based Butterfly Network Inc., went on the market last year. An update will include artificial intelligence to help users position the probe and interpret the images. It is far more accurate and and gives data that is far more superior than a doctor using a stethoscope.
Within the next decade, hand-held
le="font-size:14px">ultrasound devices will become part of the routine physical exam, just like the reflex hammer.
With medical advances and competing devices over the past few decades, the old stethoscope is kind of falling on hard times in terms of rigorous training. Some recent studies have shown that graduates in internal medicine and emergency medicine may miss as many of half of murmurs using a stethoscope.
Some medical schools and hospitals are also involved in testing new technology created by Eko, a Berkeley, California-based maker of smart
stethoscopes. To improve detection of heart murmurs, Eko is developing AI algorithms for its devices, using recordings of thousands of heartbeats. The devices produce a screen message telling the doctor whether the heart sounds are normal or if murmurs are present.
Doctors look more 'cooler'with latests tech gadgest that are more accurate.
The newer devices are more accurate and can even give more parameters and also critical information and with prices falling day by day for electronic gadgets, more affordable for all.
Some doctors however have a sense of insecurity and without a
stethoscope around their necks, they feel ‘naked’ or not in command!
Thailand Medical News is inviting both doctors and patients to write and give us your views and comments about stethoscopes being obsolete to
pr@thailandmedical.news. The top three letter that get published will be given a
Butterfly iQ device for free.
