Stethoscopes are considered a crucial tool for healthcare professionals. It is generally used to amplify body sounds for medical examination. Doctors and nurses use this equipment to assess heartbeat, blood pressure, respiration, and other body sounds.
Littmann's stethoscope enhances healthcare professionals' ability to analyze different bodily sounds, which is an important part of medical diagnosis.
What are high-quality Stethoscopes?
A stethoscope is an acoustic medical device that comprises of a disc shape resonator that is placed in the chest of the patient. The resonator connects through one or two tubes to the earpieces. It is also used with a manual sphygmomanometer to check the patient's blood pressure.
Types of Stethoscope available today
With technological advancement, there are now many different types and designs of stethoscopes. Below mentioned are the kinds of the stethoscope.
Acoustic StethoscopeThese stethoscopes, such as the Medline stethoscope, deliver more amplified sound waves towards the ear to listen to the body sounds.
For the sound to reach our ears, sound waves cause vibration in the air molecules. These waves then travel to the eardrum and cause them to vibrate, creating sound. A heartbeat or gurgling of the stomach causes a sound that hits the chest piece when placed on the chest. The rubber tube attached channels these sounds to the earpiece.
Electronic medical Stethoscope
An electronic or digital stethoscope converts physical vibrations into electrical signals. It then optimizes the sound for improved diagnosis.
Other stethoscopes, such as the Littmann stethoscope, offer additional features like the LED display. The display shows sound level, frequency selection, battery life, and patient heart rate.
Some designs of the digital stethoscope are like regular ones. Other consists of a chest piece directly attached to the headphones and comes without tubes.
Recording Stethoscope
Using the recording stethoscope, the professionals can combine the audio output with external recording devices such as laptops. This makes it easier for the doctors or nurses to compare the current and previous recordings. It improves the diagnosis capabilities, thus paving a path toward the right treatment.
Other stethoscopes are fetoscopes, doppler stethoscopes, hearing-impaired stethoscopes, and disposable stethoscopes.
Uses of Stethoscope for Diagnosis
To Check Pulse
Monitoring the pulse is useful for checking a patient's health and detecting any irregularities. Healthcare professionals use Medline stethoscopes to listen the sound of the pulse. An irregular pulse might indicate different health issues that can be diagnosed through further medical tests.
Monitor Blood Pressure
A digital stethoscope offers a convenient way to check blood pressure. But old technology sometimes is preferred to get an accurate result. Using the Littmann stethoscope, physicians can easily get blood pressure readings. The right treatment is based on the correct diagnosis.
For Monitoring Fetal Heart Beat
There are several modern machines and equipment present in hospitals but the stethoscope is considered as a classic tool. Modern equipment might release radiations that is not good for the baby's health. This is another reason why the Medline stethoscope is the first choice of physicians.
Asses the Recovery of Patient
One of the easiest methods to detect the patient's healing pace is checking the bowel movements. Anesthesia before surgery causes the bowel to move slowly, affecting the patient's appetite after waking up. The doctor determines the patient's health by listening to the Littmann stethoscope's stomach sounds.
How Does Stethoscope Help Us?
There are various applications of the stethoscope, but the diagnosis of heart issues is most commonly performed by using this tool. Physicians diagnose the problems based on what they hear. Following are a few cardiac abnormalities that are analyzed using this tool:
- Arrhythmias
Arrhythmia is an irregular heartbeat that is generally caused by several health issues. The Medline stethoscope lets the physicians listen to whether the heartbeat is normal or irregular.
- Valve Leakage
A stethoscope can detect valve leakage and the amount of blood leaking through it. This helps a lot in the early detection of the problem before going through other tests.
- Blocked or Narrow Valve
Aortic stenosis might be the cause of a narrow heart valve. In this scenario, the doctor hears a murmuring sound indicating the troubled valve and the severity of the problem.
What to Consider for Purchasing the Stethoscope?
A stethoscope is a highly sensitive piece of equipment, so choosing the right one is imperative for accurate readings. The following are the key elements to consider when purchasing the Medline stethoscope.
Fit the Need
Specific types of stethoscopes are required for each medical specialty. There are general stethoscopes and specific ones such as cardiology, doppler stethoscopes, pediatric stethoscopes, veterinary stethoscopes, and student stethoscopes. Different types of stethoscopes differ based on the size of various stethoscope parts and sensitivity.
Flexible Diaphragm
A diaphragm is a plastic disc inside a chest piece that vibrates in response to the external body sound. This vibration creates an air pressure that travels through an air-filled tube and finally reaches to the earpiece. For this, the diaphragm should be of high quality. Resin and PE are generally considered as good choices.
Tunable Chest Piece
The chest piece consists of a bell and a diaphragm. Later one is the part while the other side is called a bell. The chest piece is a part of the Littmann stethoscope that captures the body sound. A tunable chest piece is preferred as it allows the professionals to hear different sounds depending on the pressure on the chest piece.
High Quality
A good and high-quality Medline stethoscope can amplify the sounds that the professionals can hear clearly while checking for the vitals. In general, a classic binaural stethoscope is the best fit. But physicians with hearing issues need a more sensitive one or hearing-impaired stethoscopes could be the choice for such professionals. A stethoscope with a dual membrane chamber amplifies both high-frequency and low-frequency sounds. This version can help block the outside noise, facilitating the professionals to hear more accurately.