So I've seen a bunch of adds for a new stethoscope digitization product from a brand that starts with an E, has a K, and ends with an O, and is a homophone for the word echo, that, for reasons similar to our favorite inflatable nozzle's trade-name-that-starts-with-a-b-that-shall-not-be-named, I shall not outright name or link to (this company has clearly invested heavily in marketing/branding, and I imagine they would be less-than-impressed to google their name and find it here - which then results in lawsuits).
It's a clever design, in that it is a piece that attaches to a normal stethoscope - the tubing is removed from the bell, and in its place, this device is attached to the tubing. The device is double-ended, and the other end includes a separate nipple and a small section of tubing, where the bell is then reattached. This returns the scope to normal function, but the device itself contains a microphone and a bluetooth transmitter, which can record the sounds, replay them, and visualize them as a sound wave. I think some contain amplification elements as well. They also have a head that also functions as a rudimentary ECG, though I find that product less appealing on the surface.
There are several e-steth products out there, like littman's, but they are pricey, ugly, or both. Some love the littman product, some hate it and want the old-school feel. Etc. This is the best of all worlds.
I ... like this design - but the brand-that-shall-not-be-named is tightly paired with proprietary software and only sold to medical professionals - even if we could greymarket the device itself, the company has (to its profit) built this out as a product-as-a-service item, so it would be useless to any non-med-pro, or even any med-pro unwilling to pay for its service cost, which are designed for medical, business needs, not listening to kinky heartbeats. The device doesn't work at all without the service - at least one without reverse-engineering it, which is suboptimal.
So that, of course, got me thinking....what would it take to make one (this is a common thought in my head, ask Playtime)? It occurs to me that based on my knowledge of embedded hw design, I'd estimate that something like this could be designed, then assembled and sold for under $100us. We could design this as a community, use short-run prototype services to create the boards, then I could sell, assemble, and ship them to those who want one, at cost. Heck, maybe if the design is cool enough, it can be adapted for and used by clinicians - perhaps in developing regions where cost is a larger factor than regulation?
My initial thought is that a Pi ZeroW isn't much larger than the enclosure used here. Batteries are perhaps an issue, but possibly solvable. We can shrink everything considerably as well if we're willing to do a bit of custom PCB, we can significantly reduce size and probably power use. There are plenty of shops that are willing to do prototyping assembly at reasonable cost - you simply give them a file, and they make the board/assemble the chips/etc.
The 0W can be used as a start point for this, or there are a number of solid, very low cost/power/size SoC options that could be a good start point for this. I can design and 3D print enclosures for these. The nipple parts can likely be sourced, if not, I can probably acquire a minilathe and make them.
The software should be relatively easy - I can certainly contribute there. The SoC will need software, and there will need to be a PC/mobile app for recording/viewing - but it doesn't need to be as complex of a system as the nice-shiny-brand-that-still-shall-not-be-named has created, which includes a complete ecosystem that integrates with MRS tools, records-keeping systems, HMS ecosystems, cloud datastores, etc, as well as provides AI-based algorithmic diagnostics. All that stuff is cool, but doesn't apply to our use cases.
Again, together, as a community, we can design and create this. I can probably do this solo, but don't have the time to tackle a project this immense on my own - but I know some of you are makers, some of you have skills that they could lend to a crazy idea like this. Ideally, we build the entire thing open-source, then we can all enjoy it when it's done.
Any interest in joining me in the crazy?
(if anyone still has any questions regarding shiny-brand-that-shall-not-be-named, PM me, and I'll privately link you to it)