Embedded Linux On a Digital Stethoscope

An anonymous reader writes "A team of electrical and computer engineering students at Calvin College is designing a digital electronic stethoscope running uClinux as its operating system. While there are many embedded devices built on Linux operating systems, medical devices running open-source software are extremely rare because of the perceived difficulty in obtaining FDA validation. The device is in its early stages of development, but major hardware choices have been made, and the team has recently released a Project Proposal and Feasibility Study."

Comments

This is not going to go very far...

[dotancohen]

I can't see this going very far. What doctor will wrap that thing around his neck? Unless, of course, it also plays MP3 files.

There may be, however, a solution looking for a problem in the fact that the audio can be recorded for playback later. However, I can see a situation where a doctor is sued for malpractice, and the audio is used against him rather than for him in the case. I'd be rather wary of using this machine, based on those grounds alone.

I really hope this fails approvals

[petes_PoV]

not because it doesn't work, but simply because it's such a dumb idea.
OK, I realise that most of the other replies are critical, too

Really this is just using tech. for it's own sake - and introducing a whole bunch of unnecessary problems into what is really a very simple procedure. Instead of a simple piece of rubber tube, with a "thingy" at each end you are now reliant on an embedded device with it's own power requirements, a link to a host PC with software compatability and yet more power requirements and finally the doctor or nurse wears a headphone to listen to exactly the same sounds they'd hear through a conventional stethoscope.

there is a slight glimmer of hope for this: remove the doctor.
If you can possibly make this device totally idiot-proof and throwaway cheap, it might just find a use for remote diagnostics, where a patient can self-monitor, upload their "swooshing" noises to an AI which does most of the work.
Of course this presuposes that the patient isn't too busy having a heart attack, and can get their PC connected up to the net, and the battery in the device hasn't gone flat, and the AI at the other end is working, and someone can take the necessary action (if needed).

On second thoughts, scrub the glimmer of hope. There are just too many things can go wrong