Noise-immune stethoscope helps medics hear vital signs in loud environments

A new type of stethoscope enables doctors to hear the sounds of the body in extremely loud situations, such as during the transportation of wounded soldiers in Blackhawk helicopters. Using ultrasound technology, the kind used to generate images of internal organs, muscles and unborn fetuses, the new stethoscope design will be presented later this week at the Fourth Joint Meeting of the Acoustical Society of American and the Acoustical Society of Japan, which will be held at the Sheraton Waikiki and Royal Hawaiian Hotels in Honolulu, Hawaii.