A team of Western University researchers have developed an open-source, clinically validated template for a 3D printed stethoscope for use in areas of the world with limited access to medical supplies – places where a stethoscope could mean the difference between life and death.
The idea to 3D print a stethoscope was born while playing with a toy stethoscope and noticing it performed its function quite well. That led Loubani and a team of engineers to design an open-access template for a 3D printed stethoscope that could be created using recycled plastic. Now, the team’s stethoscope has been clinically validated, and their results are published online today in the journal PLOS ONE.
The stethoscope, called the Glia model, was made using free open source software to keep costs low and allow others to easily access the code. With the Glia template, the stethoscope can be made in less than three hours and costs less than $3 to produce.
Anyone with a 3D printer and access to ABS – a plastic used to make garden chairs and Lego – can create the device. The results of the study show it has the same acoustic quality as the best stethoscopes on the market.
The device is currently in clinical use by physicians and allied health professionals in Gaza and is also being trialled clinically at the London Health Sciences Centre, in London, Ontario.
News Source: http://mediarelations.uwo.ca/2018/03/14/research-team-develops-clinically-validated-3d-printed-stethoscope/
