Design and Development of Low-Cost Electronic Stethoscope Trainer Kit

Abstract

Auscultation is the medical term for using a stethoscope to listen to the internal sounds of the body. Auscultation is performed on lungs, heart and abdomen of a patient during his/her medical tests. Auscultation has been a very important in examining the circulatory and respiratory systems as well as the gastrointestinal system (bowel sounds). Auscultation provides vital diagnostic clues and methodology for the early diagnosis of any cardiac abnormalities and respiratory disorders. Most heart diseases are associated with and reflected by the sounds that the heart produces. Traditional auscultation requires substantial clinical experience and good listening skills. The motive of this paper is to develop an electronic stethoscope trainer kit by using basic electronic components which can amplify the heartbeats of an individual with reduced background ambient noise, thereby producing a crystal-clear heartbeat sound for hearing across the earphones. With the help of this device, multiple members can hear the auscultated heartbeats of an individual and analyze them. Results of this project indicate that very minimal amount of noise was present at the earphone end and the enhancement of the heartbeat sound was heard with great intensity. The project’s conclusion indicates that due to the non-complexity of the system, a non-medical profession can use this low-cost electronic stethoscope without any difficulty.