The Washington times., 1924-06-18
s { I HOPH0NE
USED To RADIO
HEARTBEAT
New Invention Found Useful
Adjunct In Medical
CIassrooms

CHICAGO. June 1s.-The stetho.
phone, a new invention which
broadcasts heartbeats, and which
was demonstrated recently at the
annual convention Of the American
Medical Convention here, viii be-
come q very important adjunct TO
the medical school class room, &C.
cording to prominent surgeons and
physicians here.
For instruction purposes the
stethophone has marked advantages
over the old method in which each
student had to listen in turn. Four
to ten times as many students can
now listen and be instructed, and
since the patient is listened to. but
once, fatigue is at a minimum.
This makes 1t possible to demon.
strate many interesting cases which
are too i'll to. stand the strain for
the time required by the old method.
amounting to several hours for a
large class.
BY wheeling the stethophone to
the bedside and connecting the re.
ceivers by wires, it is also possible
to demonstrate cases which cannot
be brought into the classroom. This
Is especially true OF pneumonia
cases. Here absolute quiet is so
important that students are seldom
allowed to listen to the patients
lungs. BY using the electrical de-
vice. an entire class may listen in a
distant room at the time Of the
necessary routine visit Of the
physician, or a doctor in a distant
city may hear by radio when the
Stethophone is connected to a broad.
casting equipment.
Talks Through Patient.
In the midst of a demonstration
or In a radio consultation, IL the in.
structor wishes to address the class
he keeps the chestpiece in position
against the patients body and,
bringing his lips within several
inches OF it, talks in a quiet voice.
The vibrations are picked up by
the patients body and communi-
Gated to the chestpiece, then ampIi.
fled and delivered to the students
receivers. His words are heard with
satisfactory clearness and volume.
Doctors believe that diagnosis by
radio, not otherwise possible, can
be made with the stethophone. AS
yet the limits of its usefulness in
this way have not been established.
For instance, group Of thirty-four
cases known to have murmurs was
examined first by the ordinary
stethOscope. In three cases exam
nation by the electrical device dis
closed additional murmurs.
It Is highly probable that Incl
pient tuberculosis can be detected
earlier by the stethophone. The
same thing may be said Of the faint
murmurs of early heart disease.
Photograph Records.
A useful adjunct to the stetho.
phone is the making of phone.
graphic records. Although this pro.
cess Is still under development, :.
humber Of records have been made
Of such high quality that diagnoses
made exclusively from them have
been identical with diagnoses made
from direct auscultation of the
patient.
Records of sounds identified by
highly skilled diagnosticians and
when possible checked by autopsies
will become reference standards 70"
future instruction and comparison
with other cases where diagnosis
may be in question.
1t is also explained that there are
details in radio which must be per-
fected before actual diagnosis
through the ether lanes Is prac:
teal. For example. If a physician
in New York was listening to a
patient in Iowa and the Hertzian
waves faded he would be led to
think that the heart of his patient
was rapidly waxing and waning and
finally stopped. Static, on the other
hand, would lead to an erratic dag
nosis. Diagnosis by radio at tho
present time could only be accom-.
plished over distances under 100
miles where fading was impercep-
tible and when the ether was clear
of atmospheric disturbances.