One of the most interesting and promising developments was presented by 18-year-old American student Suman Mulumudi from Seattle three years ago. His development lies in the fact that the stethoscope — a medical instrument for listening heart and other internal organs is embedded into mobile phone case. It is necessary to attach device to the chest. The given information is transmitted to the smartphone, which through a special app records and visualizes heart rate, building charts and graphs. All together it’s called the Steth IO.
What is interesting is that this device was printed on a 3D printer and it took about 2 weeks for developing the first working prototype. The inventor founded a private company — Stratoscientific and filed an application for approval of the Steth IO by Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Suman tells that the idea for invention was prompted by the constant talk of his parents (they’re both doctors, and his father works as a cardiologist) about work of the heart and errors of measurements of all indicators. New technology counts heart beats much more precise than traditional stethoscopes that will help doctors to diagnose some variations faster.
Considering possibilities of product’s use, S Mulumudi distinguishes two directions: regular stethoscope for doctors and homemade stethoscope. In both cases, this device opens up great opportunities for the development of mobile medicine. On the one hand, patients themselves can monitor their heartbeat, and the resulting information will be analyzed by the special software application or go to the doctor for analysis, reducing the risk of heart complications. On the other, it will reduce hospitalization costs and more efficient use of doctor’s time for patient diagnosis and treatment, reducing the time for collection of primary information about the patient’s condition. A software application developed Steth IO for iPhone and was adapted for smartphones Samsung Galaxy and some other. Mulumudi is not going to stop; the inventor is working on a new medical development.
