It’s the smallest handheld stethoscope I have come across. Once paired to your mobile device, it allows you to take a listen to the sounds of the body in real-time with unlimited recording.
The best feature about the Stemoscope is the ability to listen to the heart in real-time. This proves to be great for educational purposes, for example, if you are a medical student, a nurse or simply someone who is intrigued about the sounds of the body. The sound quality is very good and captures the heart well. Would I use this for my day to day job? Well, there’s a certain prestige carrying a stethoscope around your neck and certainly the quality of the sound transmitted in-ear is much better than that from a mobile device. However, as someone who likes to educate my viewers on the sounds of the body this is a great addition to my collection and I cannot wait to share more educational videos with you.
PROS
Lightweight 30g
Unlimited recording
Up to 5 hours usage
Very small
Bluetooth to mobile device
Cheap - around $100 AUD
Easy to use device and App
Works 2m apart
Able to use bell/ diaphragm and both
Able to amplify sound
Great hobbiest listening device.
Best used with headphones plugged into mobile device
CONS
Sound quality not as good as an in-ear stethoscope
Doesn’t replace the prestige of classic stethoscope
Requires a mobile device to use
CONCLUSION
This is a great tool if you’re interested in learning more about particular heart, lung or bowel sounds. It would be a useful aid for exam preparation and it looks futuristic. I’ll certainly be keeping mine to film more beautiful sounds of the body.
Thanks for watching and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to leave me a comment in the comments section below or pop by and see me in clinic.
With alarming statistics that 1 out of 2 Australians will get a skin cancer at some point in their life, it’s important that as a general practitioner I can assess and diagnose these lesions. To do so I use a dermascope or a dermatoscope. This is a device that looks at the surface of the skin with a magnifying glass and light.
Inside the Dermlite DL4 box you will find:
With me here is the dermlite DL4
- A leather carry case
- A USB charging cable
- A lens wipe
- 5 Ice caps - these are essential to prevent cross contamination between patients.
The dermascope has a 30mm viewing lens, with 10 x magnification. It has both polarised and non polarised light capabilities.
Polarised light allows us to assess the depth of structures.
In the non polarised mode we can inspect superficial skin layers - such as the dermo-epidermal junction. In the polarised mode we can inspect deeper skin layers including the dermo-epidermal junction and superficial dermis. The polarised light allows for the identification of blood vessels and pink colour. This increases sensitivity for diagnosing amelanotic melanomas or BCCs.
The non polarised light increases the specificity to identify milia like cysts (which are white) or comedo-like openings seen in seborrhoeic keratosis.
So being able to toggle between the two has a far more superior diagnostic capability.
The dermoscope allows for both contact and non contact on the skin, you may also use immersion liquid in the non-polarised setting.
On the side you can see another button which allows for pigment boost, when used this makes the colour of lesions pop for easier identification.
Just a word of caution, if you’re thinking of having a skin check after watching this video please choose your practitioner carefully. Some physicians will just use their eyes for a skin check, however, I would suggest going to someone who has detailed equipment because unfortunately as humans we haven’t yet learnt how to magnify our vision!
I’ll usually use the dermascope with my magnifying loupes to assess the skin closely and ensure that every centimetre is investigated thoroughly for a comprehensive skin check.
If you’ve not booked in for a skin check in the past year or are concerned that a lesion has changed in size, colour, shape or is itchy or bleeding please seek medical advice or pop by and see me in clinic.
I hope you’ve found this video useful and if you have any questions please drop me a line below in the comments section.
Which Stethoscope to Buy and Why | A Doctor’s Perspective
They may be a cool fashion statement but stethoscopes have many uses aside from being a physicians right of passage. In today’s episode of Dr Nora, I share with you which stethoscope I used during medical school, GP training and which I use today. I’ll also be going through the pros and cons of the different models as well as sharing with you a few stories from my medical school days.
Thanks for watching and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to leave me a comment in the comments section below or pop by and see me in clinic.
Take care and stay healthy.
Dr Nora 💉
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