Taking the stethoscope into the 21st century, 3M today announced
the introduction of the 3M™ Littmann® Electronic Stethoscope Model
3200, a next-generation auscultation device featuring Bluetooth
technology that wirelessly transfers heart, lung and other body
sounds to software for further analysis.
“For almost 50 years, the Littmann brand has been synonymous
with quality and innovation in stethoscopes,” said Warren Wasescha,
new products marketing manager, 3M Health Care. “The introduction
of the Littmann Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200 signals a new age
in stethoscope technology that will help enhance clinicians’
natural abilities, and enable healthcare providers to confirm
diagnoses and more easily gather a second opinion from
colleagues.”
The company partnered with Connecticut-based Zargis Medical to
develop two companion software packages exclusively for the
Littmann Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200. Specifically:
- Zargis® Cardioscan™ software
easily pairs with the Littmann Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200 to
guide the clinician through four main cardiac sites, then after
approximately one minute, indicates whether or not the patient
possesses a suspected diastolic or systolic murmur—and whether or
not the murmur is suspected to be a Class I indication for
echocardiography referral.
- Zargis StethAssist™ software,
included with the Littmann Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200,
allows clinicians to visualize heart, lung and other body sounds,
play recordings at slow speeds to hear more clearly, and save
recordings for comparison to future auscultations.
- StethAssist and Cardioscan
recordings and related patient notes are stored electronically and
can also be sent to colleagues for a second opinion.
“The combination of the Littmann Electronic Stethoscope Model
3200 and the Zargis Cardioscan diagnostic support software arms
clinicians with a valuable tool that provides results during the
patient exam,” said Joseph Tartaglia, MD, a practicing cardiologist
in White Plains, New York, and clinical assistant professor of
medicine at New York Medical College in Valhalla, New York. “The
ability to record and automatically analyze heart sounds can help
improve a clinician’s confidence, document complex auscultations,
and may keep some patients from going through additional,
unnecessary testing.”
According to a retrospective study published in Clinical
Cardiology in 2008,1 physicians using Cardioscan results reduced
their false negative referral decisions for heart murmurs by an
average of 46 percent and reduced their unnecessary referral
decisions by an average of 41 percent.
"At a time when our nation is focused on leveraging technology
to improve healthcare efficiency, this launch represents a
breakthrough in computer-aided auscultation that has the potential
to reduce unnecessary referrals, or help clinicians detect
pathologic heart murmurs earlier in the treatment cycle," stated
John Kallassy, CEO of Zargis Medical.
Electronic vs. Non-Electronic
Stethoscopes
The Littmann Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200 is part of a line
of electronic stethoscopes that also includes the recently
introduced 3M™ Littmann® Electronic Stethoscope Model 3100.
Although the model 3200 is the only stethoscope that utilizes
Bluetooth, both stethoscopes feature 24x sound amplification and
proprietary Ambient Noise Reduction (ANR) Technology, which
reduces, on average, 85 percent of ambient noise that can interfere
with the auscultation experience.
Clinical Evidence: In a series of three controlled
experiments comparing non-electronic, cardiology-type stethoscopes
and the Littmann Electronic Stethoscope Model 3000 Series:
Detecting S3 gallops: 191 cardiologists listened to
pre-recorded heart sounds with and without an S3 gallop of two
different magnitudes, presented in random order and in the presence
of ambient noise. Results showed that:
- Cardiologists missed an S3
gallop 40 percent more often with a non-electronic stethoscope than
with a Littmann Electronic Stethoscope Model 3000 Series.
- 83 percent reported that it was
easier to detect/hear an S3 gallop with a Littmann Electronic
Stethoscope Model 3000 Series.
Assessing aortic regurgitations: 100 cardiologists
listened to pre-recorded heart sounds with and without Grade 1 or
Grade 2 aortic regurgitation murmurs, presented in random order in
the presence of ambient noise. Results demonstrated that:
- 82 percent of cardiologists
indicated it was easier to detect an aortic regurgitation (Grade 1
or 2) with a Littmann Electronic Stethoscope Model 3000 Series
compared to the traditional stethoscope.
- Grade 2 aortic regurgitation
murmurs were missed five times more often with the traditional
scope than with a Littmann Electronic Stethoscope Model 3000
Series.
Identifying lung sounds: 137 critical care nurses
listened to, and were asked to identify, prerecorded normal and
abnormal lung sounds (with crackles, wheezes or rhonchi) presented
in the presence of ambient noise. Results showed:
- 90 percent indicated it was
easier to detect/hear abnormal lung sounds with the electronic
stethoscope
- Sounds were misidentified as
normal or abnormal two times more often with the traditional
stethoscope
“The studies demonstrated a clear benefit in the ability of
electronic stethoscopes to detect murmurs and other sounds,” said
Ned Hancock, marketing manager, 3M Health Care. “The electronic
stethoscopes in the Littmann brand of products not only provide
enhanced sound quality but also reduce ambient noise, helping the
clinician make an assessment with confidence.”
More information on the Littmann Electronic Stethoscope 3000
Series, including a free 14-day trial of the Littmann Electronic
Stethoscope Model’s 3100 or 3200, can be found at www.Littmann.com
or by calling 1-800-413-1795.
About 3M Health Care
3M Health Care, one of 3M’s six major business segments,
provides world-class innovative products and services to help
health care professionals improve the practice, delivery and
outcome of patient care in medical, oral care, drug delivery and
health information markets.
For more information, visit www.3M.com
About Zargis Medical Corp.
Zargis Medical Corp. develops advanced diagnostic decision
support products and services for primary care physicians,
pediatricians, cardiologists and other healthcare professionals.
Zargis was formed in 2001 when Siemens Corporate Research, a
division of Siemens AG (NYSE: SI), and Speedus Corp. (NASDAQ: SPDE)
co-invested to develop and market an advanced acoustic technology
designed to detect heart abnormalities identified through analysis
of heart sounds.
1 Clinical study conducted in 2005 by Zargis Medical in
collaboration with The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
The study measured the accuracy of a group of primary care
physicians in evaluating a set of 100 recorded heart sounds. The
heart sounds were independently evaluated by each physician both
with and without access to Cardioscan’s reported findings. Clin
Cardiol. 2008 Feb; 31(2):79-83. The impact of computer-assisted
auscultation on physician referrals of asymptomatic patients with
heart murmurs. Watrous RL, Thompson WR, Ackerman SJ.
Editor’s Note:A media preview Webinar, including a demo
of the scope/software, will be held on:Tuesday, August 25
from 2-3 p.m. EDTTo register in advance, please visit:
http://tinyurl.com/mmx76k
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6032339&lang=en
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