New Standard Solution in Amplified Stethoscopes

A new product in the form of an amplified stethoscope deserves immediate attention.  The Thinklabs One is a unique electronic stethoscope integrating advanced technology in a compact and elegantly simple design. It represents a viable solution for normal hearing medical professionals as well as for medical professionals with hearing loss who are either non-hearing instrument wearers or hearing instrument wearers.  Unlike traditional stethoscopes, the Thinklabs One directs heart and breath sounds to the ears via quality insert earphones (included in packaging) rather than traditional spring-loaded earpieces. Its 3.5 mm jack offers the flexibility for the user to connect other high-quality insert earphones or headphones (not included) as well.  Why is this important? As sung by Meghan Trainor, it is “All About That Bass”.  Hearing instruments are not great at reproducing the low frequency tones so critical for performing auscultation. The packaged Thinklabs One insert earphones do.  Furthermore, several other high-quality headphones designed for listening to music (i.e. Beats Executive, Monster DNA) will work with the Thinklabs One and offer not only an excellent frequency response, but a strong bass, a key component in performing auscultation. This type of flexibility provides the user with the most comfortable and customizable listening experience.

Noteworthy Features of Thinklabs One:

There are a couple of other noteworthy features that makes this amplified stethoscope appealing and, in my opinion, a new standard solution for both non-hearing instrument wearers and hearing instrument wearers. The Thinklabs One:

1. has five different auscultation filter settings for heart and breath sounds rather than the two standard filters (Bell and Diaphragm) found in other stethoscopes
2. provides up to 100x amplification over standard stethoscopes and subjectively much louder than other amplified stethoscopes
3. comes equipped with a Thinklink kit that enables the user to connect the stethoscope to any recorder (i.e. iPhone, iPad, Android device, computer) to record, playback, visually display, and/or email sounds when used with any number of available Apps such as the Thinklabs Stethoscope App, Thinklabs Audacity, Sensi, TwistedWave Audio Editor, and Tape Machine (for Android)
4. uses a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery so there is no need to replace batteries
5. includes a set of cables to connect splitters to allow multiple people to listen at the same time
6. connects directly to a hearing instrument streamer via a cable included with product packaging (see post How To Connect a Hearing Instrument Streamer to an Amplified Stethoscope)
7. potentially offers wireless connectivity to hearing instrument streamers by inserting a small Bluetooth transmitter (i.e. CS-QLINK) into the Thinklabs One 3.5 mm jack (not recommended as described in more detail below but could work in some cases)

Thinklabs One Application for Your Patients:

The Thinklabs One is a viable option for any medical professional in search of a stethoscope, regardless of whether or not they have a hearing loss, or whether or not they wear hearing instruments. It is important to recognize the most ideal configuration for each of your patients based on the style of their hearing instrument. The general guidelines for the Thinklabs One are as follows:

FOR MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS WITH NORMAL HEARING:

1. Use Thinklabs One with insert earphones included in the packaging
2. Use Thinklabs One with user’s own favorite headphones or earphones (purchased separately)

1.  Connect the Thinklabs One to the patient’s processor via a Personal Audio Cable available from the cochlear implant manufacturer

WIRELESS CONNECTION OF THINKLABS ONE TO STREAMER:

Medical professionals with hearing loss performing auscultation are constantly in search of a Bluetooth amplified stethoscope solution whereby the amplified stethoscope could be paired with a hearing instrument streamer to eliminate the cable between the stethoscope and the streamer.  The Thinklabs One amplified stethoscopes DOES NOT have built-in Bluetooth capabilities; this stethoscope is specifically designed to interface with a streamer via a hard wire connection using a cable.

Having said that, the Thinklabs One is equipped with a standard 3.5 mm jack and packaged with a variety of cables that would allow a user to directly plug a Bluetooth transmitter (sold separately) into the stethoscope. The transmitter could then be paired to the hearing aid streamer which, in turn, would wirelessly send signals to the user’s hearing instruments. Whether or not this will work is unknown.  It may be worth a try but this configuration is associated with no guarantee and realistic expectations should be clearly relayed to the user. The Bluetooth profiles of the transmitter and the streamer may not be compatible. In other instances, despite successful device pairing, signal transmission may be intermittent. Furthermore, this configuration involves the signal to hop from one wireless circuit to another which can diminish the quality of the transmitted signal may be sufficiently diminished. Nevertheless, some things may be worth a try, particularly when there is a chance it may work and the user is motivated to try.

For more information on the Thinklabs One amplified stethoscope, contact Oaktree Products toll free at 800.347.1960 and ask for customer service. To read up on information to consider when programming a hearing instrument specifically for auscultation, see the previous blog post Amplified Stethoscopes – No Shortcuts!