Sounds perfect – a new digital stethoscope…with a difference.
Patients and providers alike have embraced the benefits of telehealth consultations via video call. But what happens when a remote patient requires a heart and lung examination during a video call with a health professional at the far end?
The answer is TrueSteth.
Stethoscope audio via video conferencing
TrueSteth is a revolutionary digital stethoscope function that enables the transmission of diagnostic quality stethoscope sounds during a live, telehealth video conference, without any loss of audio fidelity and sound quality.
This means a physician at the far end of a telehealth consultation can listen to stethoscope audio that is so crystal clear, it’s as if they were examining the patient in person.
TrueSteth also provides remote physicians with the ability to control a digital stethoscope’s gain and audio filters, from the far end of the video call. This unique remote-control function allows the clinic nurse to concentrate on the patient, while the remote physician adjusts the stethoscope gain and filters accordingly. The physician can observe the patient examination on screen, guide the nurse’s placement of the stethoscope, and adjust stethoscope functions, as required.
During the telehealth consultation, the visualisation of the stethoscope audio is displayed in the video call in three different modes – amplitude of the pulse, frequency response, and oscilloscope mode – providing a clear, real-time picture of the patient’s heart health.
The patient’s auscultation data can be securely recorded and saved to a local network or against the patient’s electronic health record.
The TrueSteth function enables delivery of vital health services via telehealth in even the most remote geographical locations, thanks to unique software that delivers optimal auscultation sounds, even when used in areas with poor internet connectivity.
Cutting-edge technology for diagnosis at a distance
While traditional video conferencing platforms use bandpass filters to optimise the sound of the human voice by removing unnecessary frequencies on the hertz scale, TrueSteth works on our customised Vision video conferencing platform, which has the unique ability to enhance auscultation sounds.
Vision has been designed specifically to meet the clinical requirements of health professionals requiring high-quality audio and visual data to perform patient examinations and diagnoses at a distance, via telehealth video call.
Vision software automatically opens the lower hertz sound frequencies that are vital for performing effective auscultation on a patient’s heart, lungs, and body cavity. These stethoscope sounds are converted to a digital data stream for instantaneous transmission during a telehealth video call, and reconstructed to analogue audio for the physician at the far end, with no loss of quality.
Any number of health professionals can participate in a Vision video call and perform remote consultations using the TrueSteth function.
Because video-call participants are all listening to the same stethoscope sounds, simultaneously, TrueSteth helps improve consensus decision-making amongst collaborating health professionals.
TrueSteth is built around FDA-approved filters and works with a range of digital stethoscopes including USB, Bluetooth® and 3.5mm microphone plug connections.