Telematics Product Summary Draft 3

According to Yuen (2017), the compact Smart StethoScope (S3) is a device invented by three students from Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP).  This small device is wearable and allows users with cardiovascular diseases to monitor their hearts for abnormal sounds at home without any medical understanding. This could save the lives of patients whose heart conditions might not have been detected during medical appointments. It can collect data on heart sounds and the heart electrical activity. The data is then uploaded into a machine learning model on a cloud server that will process it and identify abnormal heart sounds. This device is affordable as it only takes $30 to produce it. Doctors can monitor their patients’ health through this device more easily. While the S3 provides the patients the ease of usage and affordable price, it lacks the ability to provide more function such as monitoring the lungs and the time of wearing the device can be reduced.

Similar products like HD Steth and eKuore pro feature cohesive electrocardiography (ECG) and accurate cardiac diagnosis. Their main selling point is the AI (artificial intelligence) and predictive analytics to assist medical professionals with early detection of cardiac abnormalities. It enables doctors to observe and record both heart and lung sounds for “real-time collaboration, comparison and future diagnosis”. Captured data can be shared with other doctors and specialists for optimum treatment, insurance companies and electronic medical record systems. However, this is priced at $500 and $950 respectively.

HD Steth and eKuore pro also allow users to switch between the pulmonary and cardiac filter effortlessly. The process of taking and recording of the ECG is fast and simple which can all be done in under five minutes. This ability is what the S3 does not have, as users are required to wear it for around five minutes per day to record their heart conditions.

In conclusion, all these smart stethoscope are great inventions as it allows the doctor to get a second professional opinion, to check the findings against a database or compare the patient’s status over time. They also reduce the level of uncertainty in the diagnosis and reduce unnecessary referrals and prioritizing patients who need hospital treatment. Hence, if S3 were to be equipped with these improvements, it would be able to compete fairly with the high-end products mentioned above and win the hearts of potential users with its affordable cost and ease of usage.

References: 

• eKuore Pro Smart Stethoscope. Retrieved October 2, 2018, from https://www.ekuore.com/en/wireless-stethoscope
• Gulland, A. (2015, November 30). The Wireless Stethoscope that is setting doctor’s hearts racing. Medical Expo e-magazine. Retrieved October 2, 2018, from http://emag.medicalexpo.com/wireless-stethoscope-setting-doctors-hearts-racing
• Tesorero, A. (2018, January 30).  Smart Stethoscope’ To Visualize Heart Sound, Cardiac Abnormalities. Khaleej Times. Retrieved October 2, 2018, from https://www.khaleejtimes.com/news/uae-health/smart-stethoscope-to-visualize-heart-sound-cardiac-abnormalities
• Yuen, S. (2017, August 7). Wear This Device To Monitor The Heart. The Straits Times. Retrieved September 23, 2018, from https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/wear-this-device-to-monitor-the-heart