Electronic stethoscope developed to reduce infection risk

Spanish company eKuore Mobile Health Devices has developed an electronic stethoscope that enables remote and wireless auscultation, reducing the risk of infection among health professionals.

As healthcare professionals are continuously exposed to COVID-19, especially during the auscultation process, traditional stethoscopes require a distance of less than 50cm between doctor and patient, increasing the risk of infection.

One of the main symptoms the new disease is shortness of breath and difficulty in breathing that can lead to pneumonia, therefore auscultation is one of the main tests to be carried out on potentially infected patients.

eKuore has developed the wireless electronic stethoscope that can be linked to wireless audio devices, such as headphones or speakers, by means of a Bluetooth transmitter. In this way, in addition to increasing the distance between patient and healthcare professional, it enables the use of PPE equipment.

Dr. Santiago Figueroa, a thoracic surgeon at the Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valencia, said: "The eKuore electronic stethoscope is proving to be very useful in this crisis. I would say that it offers three main advantages: better protection for healthcare personnel, savings on personal protective equipment and, in addition, high quality auscultation.”

The device has other relevant features that can prevent the spread of the infection, such as the possibility of replacing the chestpieces, sanitising them and reusing them. The stethoscope can be connected to smartphones by means of an APP, helping to monitor the evolution of the disease by keeping the auscultation recordings; or streaming them wirelessly from an isolated room in the triage area.

eKuore’s stethoscopes have been integrated in end-to-end solutions. In the UK, eKuore has been integrated into the Feebris platform – a medical software that has been used across care homes to streamline the early detection of deterioration and power integrated healthcare between communities and the health system.

Feebris’ CEO, Elina Naydenova, said: “As a company developing clinical AI-powered software which translates medical signals into actionable health insights, partnerships with trusted hardware partners like eKuore are fundamental. Together, we are proud to be supporting social care and healthcare partners across the UK in transforming their services to emerge stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic.”