Types of Stethoscopes

The stethoscope was invented in France in the year 1816. A stethoscope can be used to hear internal sounds from a human's body. It is also used to count blood pressure in patient's body & is a valuable tool in listening to the resonance inside veins.

Characteristically, the stethoscope has become a symbol of doctor's profession. The Stethoscope is the integral part of doctor's profession & helpful in diagnosing a patient's health status. It is the one tool that all doctors (and some nurses) carry with them at all times. This piece of equipment is such a big part of the doctors life that many times they will have them engraved to increase their sentimental value.

A stethoscope can be differentiated or characterized on the basis of ergonomics, clarity and loudness of the sound coming out from human body. Apart from the common one we see there are specialized ones used every day, including:

Acoustic: Acoustic stethoscope is generally used for listening to sounds coming out from the chest. It contains a chest piece and hollow tube. The only limitation with acoustic stethoscope is that they cannot work with reduced sounds. A quiet environment is necessary to get accurate readings.

Electronic: This kind of stethoscope can give ultimate output especially with low sound waves. This stethoscope amplifies the sound waves and gives indicators. This type of stethoscope is used mostly for taking faint readings.

Recording: Few stethoscopes hold the feature of recording the sound waves. These kinds of stethoscopes can be connected with any type of recorder and can trap the output for later use and analysis.

Noise Reduction Stethoscopes: This kind of stethoscope is the same as electronic ones only they come with noise cancelling or background noise reduction.

Fetal Stethoscopes: This fetal stethoscope is being used for pregnant women. It features an enlarged end, which is placed over the abdomen of the pregnant lady. A common name for this stethoscope is fetoscope. However, in current world, with advancement of technology, fetal stethoscopes are being replaced by sonaid, which is more advanced and electronic.

Stethoscope is one of the most important pieces of medical equipment used in the healthcare industry. While advancements in the medical field are increasing dramatically, the stethoscope has largely remained unchanged for over 150 years. This is one piece of equipment that has seen little change from the increase of technology in the medical field. Many doctors prefer just your standard stethoscope vs. some of the newer models with more electronic features. Over time more will be forced to use an electronic stethoscope as more practices are starting to use an EMR (electronic medical records) system.

Lee Joseph is a Medical Equipment Expert.  You can purchase a stethoscope by visiting swissmedicalequipment.com. You will find a large selection of Stethoscopes for any budget.