Symbolic of modern medical care, the stethoscope is easily one of the most identified tools used by today's medical professionals. Whether shopping for your first stethoscope, upgrading to a more advanced model or outfitting an entire practice, rest assured Henry Schein Medical has exactly what you are looking for.
Combination adult-size chest piece is precisely machined to exacting tolerances from surgical stainless steel for outstanding performance and rugged durability. Available in 3 striking colors for departmental coding or personal identification, scope ID tag included.
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The Harvey Elite offers updated styling along with the superior comfort and auscultation capabilities that cardiologists have come to rely on. It is equipped with dual-bore, latex-free tubing that creates two uninterrupted sound channels and works with the optimally weighted, rugged, and stainless steel chestpieces. In addition, Elite's diaphragm is designed to accentuate important sounds, enabling you to listen to cardiac, pulmonary, and vascular sounds.
The 3M™ Littmann® Classic III™ Stethoscope is the latest version of the stethoscope that helps millions of medical professionals achieve their best. The Classic III stethoscope offers high acoustic sensitivity for exceptional performance, plus a versatile two-sided chestpiece with tunable diaphragms. The Classic III stethoscope is used by students and medical professionals alike to identify, listen to, and study heart, lung, and other body sounds for physical assessment, patient monitoring, and diagnosis.
Sturdy and refined, the Littmann Cardiology IV helps isolate subtle sounds, hard-to-hear sounds and small nuances including aortic stenosis, S3 gallop murmurs and faint pulmonary anomalies. Useful in critical care and challenging environments such as the ED, ICU, Cardiac ICU, step-down unit and other dynamic locations.
Durability, versatility, comfort, and ease of use. Though these are the baseline desirable characteristics for any stethoscope, there's often much more to consider when purchasing this essential piece of medical equipment.
Where will you be using your stethoscope? Is the room noisy, quiet, or a mixture of both? Having a strong acoustic seal and professional level acoustic properties can make a big difference in how much you hear as well as the quality of what you hear.
What will your stethoscope be used for? Will its primary use be a diagnostics tool, or will it also be used for patient monitoring? Blood pressure measurements and basic physical assessments may point to a lighter weight model while heart and lung examinations requiring identification of more subtle sounds may call for more advanced features and an upgraded product line. Many stethoscopes are designed with a specialty in mind like cardiology or pediatrics. Always check the manufacturer's product description to ensure the stethoscope meets your intended specifications.
How important is comfort? When a stethoscope is draped around the neck or tucked into your pocket, how weighty is it? Are the ear tips hard or soft? Our ear canals are not uniform. Always ensure ear tips correctly conform to your ears for maximum sound performance.
Do you require a tunable diaphragm? Brands like Littmann® offer several models for greater flexibility. Tunable diaphragms can be accessed on either side of the chestpiece or via conversion of the smaller side to an open bell.
Are you a clinician or teaching professional who needs more amplification or recording options? You may benefit from using an electronic stethoscope model. When combined with an app, electronic stethoscopes help to provide a vehicle for recording and analyzing sounds as well as sharing files when seeking a second opinion.
We've come a long way since the 1816 invention of the stethoscope by René Laennec. Born from the desire for modesty, a simple tube made from a sheet of paper allowed the doctor to listen to the heart without directly placing his ear upon the chest. In the years since, we've morphed from wooden ear horns to flexible tubing, plastic diaphragms, and binaural listening; eventually landing on the modern-day stethoscope design.
The seemingly simple stethoscope device utilizes a diaphragm, typically placed on a patient's chest, which carries the sound of the heart through to the earpieces. The instrument is also helpful in monitoring lung and intestinal functions. However, while stethoscopes now come in a wide range of models and styles, they don't all share the same functionality and purpose.
Uniquely designed to capture the sound waves created by a beating heart, expanding lungs, or a gurgling stomach, the acoustic stethoscope, through a series of components, helps to amplify sounds not typically heard by the exposed ear. The metal chest piece acts as a conduit to the vibrations, channeling the sound waves through rubber tubing until it reaches the metal earpiece. The tubing itself helps to contain the waves and amplify the sound. Adjustments to the chestpiece inclusive of the diaphragm and bell, can help tune the sound for added clarity.
As clinicians continue to seek new ways to improve patient outcomes, technological upgrades become more prevalent. Because the acoustic stethoscope provides a mixture of low and high frequency sounds, perfecting their usage can take several years. However, electronic stethoscopes remove some of the guesswork by further amplifying sounds, increasing volume, and reducing excess background noise. Vibrations are translated to electric signals and then optimized for clarity. Some models also feature custom apps that help with visualization of the audio data.
Electronic stethoscopes do come with a small disadvantage. Unlike with traditional stethoscopes, your electronic or digital stethoscope will require one AA alkaline, lithium, or NiMH battery (dependent on brand and model). Careful monitoring of battery life can help to ensure your stethoscope functions accurately when and where you need it most.