iStethoscope Downloaded by 3 Millions Doctors

Sometimes it’s hard to tell if all these productivity applications are actually useful, or just fun to use. But in the case of iStethoscope from developer Peter Bentley, the sheer number of downloads by actual professionals seem to indicate that the iPhone could have a future in the medical industry.

I’m not going to let the app’s 2-star average in the App Store be the final word. Bentley acknowledges that doctors spend years perfecting their use of the stethoscope, and so the everyday iPhone user shouldn’t expect to spend 99 cents and then be able to get perfect readings right off the bat . . . It uses the iPhone or iPod Touch microphone. When pressed directly against the skin of the chest, the doctor wearing headphones (preferably not the default Apple pair) hears the deep sound of the heart in what Bentley describes as a “wonderful, clear sound.”

This particular developer from University College London is clearly sold on the idea of iDevices and smartphones becoming a commonplace fixture in the medical environment. Bentley says, “Smartphones are capable of saving lives, saving money and improving health care in a dramatic fashion.”

Aside from listening in on the heartbeat, iStethoscope lets you see your heart waveform and do things like emailing the spectrogram of the audio. So, 2-star average and lots of complaints or not, iStethoscope is fairly groundbreaking, and looks like it will probably continue well past 3 million downloads.

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Devin Wieland

 

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