I reproduce below a short note on electronic stethoscope. which would makle it clear that the ordinary stethoscope may aid in common circumstances in yet others only an electronic telescope alone can bring out the real natrure of the malady.



Modern electronic stethoscopes are usable at 90 to 95 decibels, about the loudness of truck traffic or a subway train. Rather than conventional earpieces, these have insertable loudspeakers that do a better job of sealing off the ear canal from noise.



They also substitute the tubing with electrical cables that do not pick up acoustic noise. In addition, the design of the electronic head can minimize interference from airborne sound.



Still, background noise can infiltrate the electronic head of modern electronic stethoscopes, which means even they are not ample for brutally noisy emergencies.



Noise levels can go as high as 120 decibels in a military helicopter like a Black Hawk or 100 decibels in indoor sports games or pop concerts.



Acoustical engineer Adrianus Houtsma at the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory at Fort Rucker, Ala., and his colleagues have now designed a new stethoscope head that can generate ultrasound waves.



The resulting signals the stethoscope head picks up not only yield clues about the inner workings of the body, but are in sound frequencies that noise from helicopters, ambulances or crowds does not obtain in the way of with. They found it could operate even at 120 decibels.



"This is likely to save a lot lives," Houtsma told LiveScience.



When in ultrasound mode, the new stethoscope hears the "lub dub" of a common heartbeat as a "ta-da-da" pattern.



Because of these and other significant differences from other stethoscopes in terms of sounds, to minimize confusion, the new stethoscope was designed to behave in standard electronic mode for quiet or moderately noisy environments and ultrasound mode in extreme noise conditions.



The scientists believe further research into the device could find clear cut sounds possibly linked to certain bodily anomalies, making their ultrasound stethoscope of use to cardiologists and other specialists.



"Ultrasound audio images contain many more detail, but we do not know yet what these details may mean," Houtsma said.



Future work should focus on making certainly the device is rugged ample for actual use. Researchers also have to make certainly it does not generate emissions that obtain in the way of with aircraft or other equipment, and vice versa, Houtsma explained.

I personally prefer the Littman II S.E. as an EMT-B as it has two dissimilar sized bells. One for Peds and the other for adults. There are numerous sites where you could find stethoscopes in dissimilar varieties. Like another poster stated...Why have to worry about "are my batteries going to last the shift" when you could get a decent quality common stethoscope cheaper. Check out www.stethoscopes.com