Abstract
The modern acoustic stethoscope is a useful clinical tool used to detect subtle, pathological changes in cardiac, pulmonary and vascular sounds. Currently, brand-name stethoscopes are expensive despite limited innovations in design or fabrication in recent decades. Consequently, the high cost of high quality, brand name models serves as a barrier to clinicians practicing in various settings, especially in low- and middle-income countries. In this publication, we describe the design and validation of a low-cost open-access (Free/Libre) 3D-printed stethoscope which is comparable to the Littmann Cardiology III for use in low-access clinics.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Validation Study
MeSH terms
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Costs and Cost Analysis
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Printing, Three-Dimensional / economics*
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Stethoscopes / economics*
Grants and funding
The authors received no specific funding for this work. The project was self-funded by Dr. Tarek Loubani. After the completion of the experimental and analytical work described in this paper, Dr. Tarek Loubani was awarded a grant from the University of Western Ontario’s medical school in the Summer Research Training Program. This grant paid Alex Pavlosky a stipend to work with Dr. Tarek Loubani for two summers. Part of this time covered preparation of this manuscript and figures. Dr. Tarek Loubani was also awarded a fellowship with the Shuttleworth Foundation in March 2017. During the latter stages of the preparation of the manuscript (after March 2017), Dr. Tarek Loubani received protected research time funded by the Foundation. This was during the revision phase of the publication process. While Dr. Tarek Loubani and Mahmoud Al-Alawi are affiliated with Glia Inc., this research corporation is solely owned and controlled by Dr. Tarek Loubani, did not exist during the study design, data collection and analysis or decision to publish. It had no role in funding or decisionmaking for any members of the project for the duration of the above. While Glia Inc. existed during the preparation of the manuscript, the corporation had no role in manuscript preparation. Since March 2017, Glia Inc. has paid a salary to Mahmoud Al-Alawi for his work researching and manufacturing medical devices. The funding for Glia Inc. is presently provided by Dr. Tarek Loubani and by the Shuttleworth Foundation.