Innovative Wireless Stethoscope Liberates Auscultation

A novel wireless stethoscope can monitor the respiratory system and measure body temperature in a precise but user-friendly way.

The StetHome (Poznań, Poland) StethoMe is an intelligent, wireless stethoscope that consists only of a chest piece, with a recording and analysis function that allows the interpretations of the recorded sounds; all the data is displayed on a small screen placed at the back of the device, with touch points displayed through a dedicated app on a smartphone. The results can be sent to a physician of choice at any moment via the app, making diagnosis much quicker and more efficient. StethoMe is ideal for parents to monitor sick children, as well to monitor respiratory diseases such as asthma.

The contactless thermometer can measure body temperature in quick, accurate and silent manner, even when the child is asleep. If any disturbing sounds are found in the respiratory system by the proprietary algorithms, a notification is issued immediately. The various sounds and temperatures measured are used to establish the frequency of the pathological sounds, thus enabling an accurate observation of treatment progress and the reaction to medicines administered. The StethoMe device was validated in several hospitals and in an anechoic chamber at Adam Mickiewicz University (Poznań, Poland).

“StethoMe is not just another gadget, but a specialist medical device: it is the world’s first electronic wireless stethoscope that works together with a smartphone and features also a built-in thermometer and smart sound analysis system,” said Wojciech Radomski, CEO of StethoMe. “In the USA, a research was carried out on a group of 600 people, analyzing doctors’ accuracy in interpreting sounds indicating pneumonia; the average accuracy is only 25%. This is a very subjective matter.”

The stethoscope was invented in 1816 by René Théophile Hyacinthe Laënnec at the Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital (Paris, France). It consisted of a wooden tube and was similar to the common ear trumpet, a historical form of hearing aid. In 1851, Irish physician Arthur Leared invented a binaural stethoscope, and in 1852 George Cammann perfected the design of the instrument for commercial production. A new standard stethoscope was developed in the 1940s, consisting of two sides, one of which is used for the respiratory system, the other for the cardiovascular system.

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