Stethoscopic systems and methods
First Claim
1. A stethoscopic system comprising:
- a stethoscopic device having a chest piece that collects a first signal representative of physiological sounds from a subject;
an amplifier that amplifies the signal collected by the stethoscopic chest piece to result in an amplified signal, wherein the amplified signal has the same frequency spectrum as the first signal;
a mixer that combines the amplified signal and an output of a telephone compatible ear piece and mouthpiece, wherein the mixer output signal has the same frequency spectrum as the first signal; and
an operative link to a telephone system, wherein the mixer output signal indicative of physiological sounds is accessed over the telephone system.
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Abstract
The invention provides a stethoscope device comprising a chest piece, an amplifier and a mixer compatible with a conventional voice quality telephone system. Electrical signals are generated that are representative of physiological sounds such as breath sounds, heart sounds and bowel sounds. The electrical signals can be combined with voice communications at the remote site and transmitted over the telephone system. The invention also provides a system and method for diagnosis by a trained health care professional with the patient being located at a remote site. In another embodiment, the invention also provides a system and method for training students to interpret stethoscope sounds. In addition, the system allows for simultaneous listening by the health care professional and another individual at the remote location of the stethoscope.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A stethoscopic system comprising:
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a stethoscopic device having a chest piece that collects a first signal representative of physiological sounds from a subject; an amplifier that amplifies the signal collected by the stethoscopic chest piece to result in an amplified signal, wherein the amplified signal has the same frequency spectrum as the first signal; a mixer that combines the amplified signal and an output of a telephone compatible ear piece and mouthpiece, wherein the mixer output signal has the same frequency spectrum as the first signal; and an operative link to a telephone system, wherein the mixer output signal indicative of physiological sounds is accessed over the telephone system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of listening to acoustic signals indicative of a physiological condition produced by a subject at a first site comprising the steps of:
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placing a stethoscopic chest piece in contact with the body surface of the subject producing sounds indicative of the physiological condition at the first site; converting the sounds into a first electrical signal representative of the physiological sounds; amplifying the first electrical signal, wherein the amplified signal has the same frequency spectrum as the first electrical signal; combining the amplified electrical signal with electrical signals received and transmitted by a telephone handset, wherein the combined signal has the same frequency spectrum as the first electrical signal; transmitting the combined signal via an operative link to a telephone system; accessing the telephone system at a second site using conventional voice telephone equipment; and listening to the sounds indicative of the physiological condition produced by the subject at the first site to diagnose a physiological condition. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for diagnosing the condition of a patient at a remote site, comprising the steps of:
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accessing a telephone system at a first site remote from the patient at a second site using voice telephone equipment; directing the placement of a stethoscopic device having a chest piece in contact with the body surface of the patient producing sounds indicative of a physiological condition; listening to the physiological sounds at the first site, wherein the physiological sounds have been converted into a first electrical signal representative of the physiological condition, the first electrical signal being amplified, the amplified electrical signal combined with the electrical signals received and transmitted by a telephone handset, wherein the amplified and combined signal have the same frequency spectrum as the first signal, and the combined signal transmitted via an operative link to the telephone system; and diagnosing the condition of the patient using the information conveyed by the physiological sounds. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for diagnosing a respiratory condition by a plurality of professionals at a first and a second site as they listen to the sounds indicative of a physiological condition produced by a patient, comprising the steps of:
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accessing a telephone system at a first site remote from the patient using conventional voice telephone equipment; directing the placement of a stethoscopic device having a chest piece in contact with the body surface of a patient producing sounds indicative of a physiological condition; wherein at least one professional present at the first site and at least one professional present at the second site can listen to the sounds indicative of the physiological condition and wherein the sounds are converted into first electrical signals representative of the physiological sounds, the electrical signals being amplified, the amplified electrical signals combined with the electrical signals received and transmitted by a telephone handset, wherein the amplified electrical signals and the combined electrical signals have the same frequency spectrum as the first electrical signals; and the combined signal transmitted via an operative link to the telephone system.
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Specification