STETHOSCOPE USAGE AND TYPES OF STETHOSCOPES

Stethoscope is a medical device widely used for auscultation. It is also used for to the sounds of internal parts of an animal or human body. It is a small circular resonator connected with two tubes that are put in the ear pieces. Oftener used hear the sound from heart, lungs, stomach etc, stethoscopes are also used to listen sounds from intestines. While measuring blood pressure, stethoscope is used in combination with sphygmomanometer, to hear the sound of blood drop.  Other than medical industry, stethoscopes are also used(less commonly) in automobile industry to listen internal sounds of machine which helps to identify the fault in machine or engine; these kinds of stethoscopes are widely known as, mechanic’s stethoscopes.

There are various types of stethoscope in the world. The broad classification of the range of stethoscopes available is as follows:

Acoustic Stethoscope

The most common type of stethoscopes is acoustic stethoscopes. These operate on the principle that involves transmission of sound from the circular disc like piece (Chest piece) via the air filled hollow tubes that go into the earpieces hence enabling the listener to listen the sound of internal part over which Chest piece is placed. This chest piece is made of a diaphragm and a bell. The diaphragm when placed on the part of patient’s body, the sound from the body vibrated the diaphragm creating a acoustic pressure, and the sound waves generated travel up to the ears of the listener. The bell has the similar function, but it is used for lower frequency transmissions whereas the diaphragm is used for higher frequency transmissions.

Electronic Stethoscope

This stethoscope overcomes the drawback of low sound levels as it electronically amplifies the sound of the body. Today a lot of companies across the globe offer electronic stethoscopes. The basic functioning of an electronic stethoscope requires conversion of the acoustic sound waves to electrical sound waves which are then amplified and optimized for listening purposes. Also the transducers used in the electronic stethoscopes vary widely offering a variety of range for selection among the stethoscopes. In case of electronic stethoscopes, since the sound is transmitted electronically, these electronic stethoscopes can be wireless, they can provide noise reduction, signal enhancement and audio/visual outputs too. The electronic stethoscopes find a good application in analyzing a variety of recorded heart sounds.

Doppler Stethoscope

Doppler Stethoscope is electronic medical device which are used to measure the Doppler effect of the ultrasound waves that are reflected form the organs of the human/animal body. It works on the principle of Doppler Effect and motion is detected by change in frequency of the reflecting waves.

3D-Printed Stethoscope

Manufactured with the help of 3D Printing, a 3D-Printed Stethoscope is a medical device used for auscultation. This is a very recent technology and gained the waves of industry in 2015. The need for 3D stethoscopes rose due to lack of stethoscopes during 2012 conflict in Gaza. More research is begin carried out this domain.

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