The stethoscope has been the icon of medicine for 200 years. Shouldn’t we be able to have built a better device by now? In fact, an improved stethoscope exists.
The Atlantic describes a new technology that combines a stethoscope and smartphone technology.
The CardioSleeve, a new, FDA-approved accessory, transforms a standard analog stethoscope into a visual, as well as aural, tool. The device, which faces the usual financial and habitual barriers to adoption, digitally records a patient’s heartbeat while simultaneously taking an electrocardiogram, similar to an ultrasound.