Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
  • A61B7/00—Instruments for auscultation
  • A61B7/02—Stethoscopes

Definitions

• the present invention relates generally to stethoscopes and, more particularly, to chestpieces for stethoscopes, especially electronic stethoscopes having operational controls located on the chestpiece
• Stethoscopes have long been used by physicians to monitor auscultatory sounds
• stethoscopes have been comprised of a head or chestpiece, a sound transmission mechanism and an earpiece assembly
• the chestpiece is adapted to be placed against the skin of a patient for gathering the auscultatory sounds
• the sound transmission mechanism transmits the gathered sound to the earpiece where the physician may monitor the sound
• the chestpiece of conventional auditory stethoscopes are usually quite simple physically They are usually round disk shapes sometimes dual sided, top and bottom with a diaphgram covering one side, to allow either side of the chestpiece to contact the skin of the patient for the gathering of auscultatory sounds in different frequency ranges
• the chestpiece further includes indented gripping surfaces that are adapted to easily, securely and comfortably engage the gripping appendages (thumb and one or more fingers) of the user
• the indented gripping surfaces are defined by walls which are concave generally along one or more axis generally orthogonal to the bottom surface of chestpiece
• the walls defining indented gripping surfaces are also preferably concave generally along an axis generally parallel to the bottom surface of the chestpiece to create an indented impression in the indented gripping surfaces into which the thumb and fingers of the user can securely and comfortably fit
• each of the indented gripping surfaces also include a protruding edge on the top surface of the raised center portion
• the area formed by the indented gripping surfaces and the respective protruding edges define left and right recesses which are adapted to receive the thumb and at least one finger ofthe user
• the walls of the indented gripping surfaces may be roughened, textured, or have ridges formed thereon
• the chestpiece also includes at least one finger recess located on the top surface ofthe raised center portion
• FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an illustrative embodiment of the chestpiece ofthe present invention
• Figure 3 is a top view of the illustrative embodiment of the chestpiece of the present invention.
• Figure 4 is a side view of the illustrative embodiment of the chestpiece of the present invention.
• Figure 5 is a front view of the illustrative embodiment of the chestpiece of the present invention.
• the stethoscope 10 illustrated in Figure 1 consists of a chestpiece 12, or stethoscope head, a headpiece 14 and a connecting tube 16
• the headpiece 14 has two eartips 18 and 20 adapted to fit in the ear of a user, typically a physician or other medical professional Tubes 22 and 24, generally acoustic tubes, couple eartips 18 and 20, respectively to connecting tube 16 which in turn is coupled to chestpiece 12
• the sound transmission system of stethoscope 10 may be entirely acoustic as is well known in the art However, it is also contemplated that the sound transmission system of stethoscope 10 could also be electronic In this situation, an acoustic to electronic transducer, a microphone, would be located along the acoustic sound transmission path, typically in or very near the chestpiece 12, and even more typically in the chestpiece 12 positioned in a shallow cone near the bottom surface (not shown in Figure 1) of the chestpiece 12 so as to be near the source of auscultatory sounds Electronic means would then typically amplify, or otherwise process, the electrical signal The electrical signal may be transmitted electrically to an electrical acoustic transducer, a speaker or speakers, typically located nearer the earpieces 22 and 24 of the stethoscope 10
• a stethoscope of a combination acoustic and electronic, or dual acoustic and electronic is also contemplated
• the stethoscope is an electronic stethoscope
• FIG. 2 shows perspective, top left side and front views of the illustrative stethoscope chestpiece
• the bottom surface 41 of the chestpiece 12 is adapted to be placed near the source of auscultatory sound, or, in a preferred embodiment, to contact the skin of the patient Chestpiece 12 has a raised center portion 26 which is adapted to be grasped by the thumb and one of the fingers of the user, typically the thumb and middle finger
• the top surface of raised center portion 26 preferably is sloped downward from rear to front of chestpiece 12 to form a surface which may be easily formed into the palm of the hand of the user
• raised center portion 26 is higher, i e , thicker, at the rear ofthe chestpiece 12 than at the front ofthe chestpiece 12
• Indented gripping surfaces 28 and 30 of the raised center portion 26 are adapted to easily, securely and comfortably engage the gripping appendages (thumb and one or more fingers) of the user
• Indented gripping surfaces 28 and 30 are defined by walls which are arcuate about one or more axis generally orthogonal to the bottom surface of chestpiece 12 and further are defined by the surface 32 of the chestpiece 12 opposite the bottom surface
• the walls defining indented gripping surfaces 28 and 30 are also preferably arcuate about an axis generally parallel to the bottom surface ofthe chestpiece 12 to create an indented impression in the indented g ⁇ pping surfaces 28 and 30 into which the thumb and fingers of the user can securely and comfortably fit
• the walls of the indented gripping surfaces 28 and 30 are concavely curved in two directions, from the front toward the back, and from the top toward the bottom
• the walls of the resulting indented gripping surfaces 28 and 30 are thus formed with an impression indented inwards toward the center of the chestpiece In this manner, the inden
• each of the indented gripping surfaces 28 and 30 also include a protruding edge 31 and 33, respectively.
• the area formed by the indented impressions in the walls of indented gripping surfaces 28 and 30, the respective protruding edges 31 and 33 and surface 32 define left and right recesses which are adapted to receive the thumb and at least one finger ofthe user
• the indented impressions of the left and right recesses formed into raised center portion 26 allow indented gripping surfaces 28 and 30 and the associated protruding edges 31 and 33 allow comfortable placement and secure gripping ofthe chestpiece by the user
• the protruding edges 31 and 33 on indented gripping surfaces 28 and 30 prevent the fingers or thumb of the user from slipping upward during use and eliminates the possibility that the chestpiece will slip out of the user's grip during use
• the flared out portions of the left and right recesses form into raised center portion 26 allow gripping surfaces 28 and 30 to act as a physical stop which prevents the fingers or thumb of the user from sliding forward during use and eliminates the possibility of the fingers and/or thumb slipping off of the chestpiece 12 Any of these types of slippage could result in an interruption of the monitoring of auscultatory sounds and further could result in pain and/or embarrassment to the user and/or the patient
• the protruding edges 31 and 33 facilitates the physical stop ofthe user's fingers slipping upward
• the chestpiece 12 also includes at least one finger recess, such as recesses 70, 72, and 74 Finger recesses 70 and 74 provide rest positions for the user's index finger when it is not operating one of the operational controls 52 or 58 Finger recess 72 provides the user with tactile feedback concerning the location ofthe rotary switch 58, and can also be used as an alternative rest position
• the tactile feedback provided by finger recesses 70, 72, and 74 help the user properly position the chestpiece in the hand and easily locate the operational controls without having to visually perceive the chestpiece
• the walls of the indented gripping surfaces may be roughened, textured, or have ridges formed thereon
• the roughened surface may be regular or irregular
• the walls of the indented gripping surfaces 28 and 30 may be scored or impressed with a fish gill or knurled pattern, for example
• the ergonometric chestpiece 12 has a shape which is generally circular Further, where the shape of chestpiece 12 is generally circular, the left and right walls formed by indented gripping surfaces 28 and 30 are preferred to be cylindrically concave around axes generally orthogonal to the bottom surface
• At least one operational control in this embodiment a push-button switch 52, is positioned on the top surface of the raised center portion 26
• Push-button switch 52 is positioned roughly in the middle of raised center portion 26 generally forward of indented gripping surfaces 28 and 30 In this position, push-button switch 52 is easily available to be manipulated by the index finger of the user when indented gripping surfaces 28 and 30 are grasped by the user's thumb and middle finger
• Typical uses of push-button switch 52 are to turn power to the stethoscope 10 on, or select different modes of operation of he stethoscope, for example, by selecting a different frequency response ofthe stethoscope
• the push-button switch 52 is located in recess 54 on the top surface and of raised center portion 26
• Mode indicators 62, 64, and 66 are also located within recess 54
• Recess 54 itself is arcuate, skewing toward the outside edge of raised center portion 26 similar to the wall formed by indented gripping surface 28
• Rotary control 58 (potentiometer) is positioned in a recess near the front edge of raised center portion 26 and chestpiece 12
• the rotary action of switch 58 is in a plane parallel to the plane of bottom surface 36
• the rotary action of switch 58 is in a plane perendicular to the plane of bottom surface 36, wherein the plane is positioned from the back to the front of the stethoscope chestpiece
• push-button switch 52 may be used to control power to the stethoscope and control the mode selection of the stethoscope
• rotary switch 58 may be used to control the volume of the stethoscope 10
• Mode indicators 62, 64 and 66 indicate the current mode in which the stethoscope is operating All of these controls are easily accessible to and easily manipulated by the index finger of the user
• the resulting chestpiece is one which can easily and comfortably be used by both right and left handed users It shall be understood that different chestpieces differing with respect to the number, placement and form ofthe operational controls could be substitute
• Connecting tube 16 (not shown in Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5) is coupled to chestpiece 12 at the rear of chestpiece 12 at opening 38
• chestpiece 12 functions quite ergonometrically in use by the physician or other health care professional

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• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Molecular Biology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Biomedical Technology (AREA)
• Heart & Thoracic Surgery (AREA)
• Medical Informatics (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Surgery (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Dental Tools And Instruments Or Auxiliary Dental Instruments (AREA)
• Percussion Or Vibration Massage (AREA)
• Massaging Devices (AREA)
• Prostheses (AREA)
• Food-Manufacturing Devices (AREA)

Priority Applications (6)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

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Family Applications (1)

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Cited By (3)

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Citations (5)

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• 1995
  • 1995-11-27 US US08/563,187 patent/US5663532A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 1996
  • 1996-10-22 CA CA002237560A patent/CA2237560C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1996-10-22 AU AU75965/96A patent/AU714497B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 1996-10-22 WO PCT/US1996/016937 patent/WO1997019639A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 1996-10-22 DE DE69631803T patent/DE69631803T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1996-10-22 JP JP9516124A patent/JP2000501950A/ja not_active Ceased
  • 1996-10-22 EP EP96938634A patent/EP0957767B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1996-10-22 DK DK96938634T patent/DK0957767T3/da active

Patent Citations (5)

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