Provo, Utah-based Brigham Young University researchers developed a low-cost digital stethoscope that can live stream or record a patient's heartbeat from up to 50 feet away, according to local news affiliate KSTU.
Craig Nuttall, DNP, nursing professor at BYU, and Chia-Chi Teng, IT professor at BYU, teamed up to create the device, which is constructed of 3D-printed materials and costs about $20 to make. Mr. Nuttall has been using the device to monitor patients with COVID-19-like symptoms.
The digital stethoscope works with an app to record or live stream the patient's heartbeat up to a range of 50 feet. A patient holds the device up to areas on their chest under the direction of the clinician, who can hear the patient's heartbeat through Bluetooth headphones or a speaker that pairs with the stethoscope.